Chlorurus spilurus

Bullethead parrotfish
Chlorurus spilurus
Chlorurus spilurus, female, Hawaii, Photo: Graham Edgar

Distribution

Localised


Description

Highly variable in appearance with life stage and mood, but generally with identical appearance to C. sordidus. Some researchers now consider C. sordidus to be the same as this species throughout the Pacific and in Western Australia, with only western Indian Ocean populations considered C. sordidus. Until there is more certain taxonomic resolution, we retain this species as restricted to the Hawaiian region.


Information

Max Size: 50 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 24.2-29.9°C

Depth: N/A

Habitat Generalization Index: N/A

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Least Concern

Occurrence: Frequent (11.7% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Many (17 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.