Scarus


Scarus is a genus of parrotfishes. With 52 currently recognised extant species, it is by far the largest genus in this group. The vast majority are found at reefs in the Indo-Pacific, but a small number of species are found in the warmer parts of the eastern Pacific and the western Atlantic, with a single species, Scarus hoefleri in the eastern Atlantic. Most are very colourful, and have strikingly different initial and terminal phases. Adults of most species reach maximum lengths of between, but the rainbow parrotfish can grow to lengths of.

Species

There are currently 52 recognised species in this genus:
In Cesare Ripa's Renaissance iconography, the scarus fish symbolised civil "Union," i.e. the joining together of individuals into a collective body. Plutarch had written that scarus fish "swim together in shoals and ingeniously and heroically free each other when caught in a net." The scarus thus "denoted reciprocal assistance in the fight for survival."

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