Marbled parrotfish

Marbled parrotfish
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Scaridae
Genus:	Leptoscarus Swainson, 1839
Species:	L. vaigiensis
Binomial name
Leptoscarus vaigiensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)

The marbled parrotfish or seagrass parrotfish (Leptoscarus vaigiensis) is a species of parrotfish, the only member of the genus Leptoscarus. It is found in coastal regions with seagrass, ranging from the Red Sea in west to Easter Island in east, and Japan in north to New Zealand and South Africa in south.^[1] Its distribution is largely anti-equatorial (i.e., found in both the Southern and Northern Hemisphere, but rare or absent near the Equator). It reaches a maximum length of 35 centimetres (14 in) and both genders are brownish and greenish.^[1] Uniquely among parrotfish, females never change sex to males.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2010). "Leptoscarus vaigiensis" in FishBase. March 2010 version.
2. ^ Lieske, E., & R. Myers (1999). Coral Reef Fishes. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00481-1

• Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8