Bucktooth Parrotfish, Sparisoma radians
Bucktooth Parrotfish, Sparisoma radians. Fish caught from coastal waters off Caye Caulker, Belize, May 2022. Length: 9.2 cm (3.6 inches). Catch, photograph and Identification courtesy of Vince Golder, Santa Cruz, California.
The Bucktooth Parrotfish, Sparisoma radians is a member of the Parrotfish or Scaridae Family, and is known in Mexico as loro dientudo. Globally, there are fifteen species in the Sparisoma Genus of which six are found in Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Bucktooth Parrotfish has an elongated, oval, slightly compressed body with a depth that is 27 to 31% of total length. The Initial Phase (IP) is greenish-brown dorsally transitioning to creamy white ventrally. The Terminal Phasae (TP) is greenish-brown dorsally transitioning to yellowish-gray ventrally. They have an opalescent spot just behind the eye. The lower margin of the eye is blue and there is a blue stripe from the eye to the tip of the top jaw with a reddish stripe below. They have fused, beak-like teeth that are used to graze algae in shallow seagrass beds and coral reefs and one of two canines at the rear of the top jaw. The margins of the anal fin, caudal fin, soft dorsal fin and the pectoral fins are broadly black. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 9 rays; the caudal fin is convex; and their dorsal fin is continuous with 9 spines and 10 rays. They have 10 to 13 gill rakers. Their body is covered with large smooth scales and their lateral line has two sections.
The Bucktooth Parrotfish is a small secretive fish that is found in small schools and form harems within sea grass beds, mangrove areas among soft corals and macro algae, in shallow waters to depths up to 12 m (40 feet) but occasionally move to deeper waters of depths up to 130 m (425 feet). They reach a maximum of 20 cm (7.9 inches). They utilize their cryptic color to blend into background having the ability to change colors to avoid predation. The Bucktooth Parrotfish are rare and poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, diet, growth, habitat, longevity, movement patterns, and reproduction.
The Bucktooth Parrotfish is most likely confused with the Emerald Parrotfish, Nicholsina usta (IP pale red-brown; TP green with blue spot behind the eye) and the Greenblotch Parrotfish, Sparisoma atomarium (blue bar on margin of gill cover; black spot at the front of dorsal fin; red fins).
The Bucktooth Parrotfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.
From a conservation perspective the Bucktooth Parrotfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern being common with stable, widely distributed populations. Due to their size they are of limited interest to most. They are also known to contain Ciguatera Toxin. They are considered to be vital for reef health by controlling algae growth. Their long-term viability is threatened by habitat degradation including the continual loss of coral reefs.