Scarus oviceps
Darkcap Parrotfish
Scarus oviceps, female, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Scarus oviceps, male, QLD, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Scarus oviceps, juvenile, WA, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Scarus oviceps, male, Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, QLD, Photo: Andrew Green
Scarus oviceps, juvenile, WA, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Scarus oviceps, juvenile, NSW, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Scarus oviceps, juvenile, WA, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Scarus oviceps, NSW, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Scarus oviceps, WA, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Same Genus
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Dark 'cap', dusky in juveniles and females and blue in male. Lacks multiple yellow bars on back of female as on S. dimidiatus. Male has longer head and 'cap' extends slightly further back than on male S. forsteni.
Information
Max Size: 35 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 22.3-31.2°C
Depth: 1-20 m
Habitat Generalization Index: 9.93
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 (14.1% 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: Few (2 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland