Scarus scaber Valenciennes, 1840

Scarus scaber Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1840a: 239; lectotype: MNHN 0000-0588; type locality: Mauritius. Dusky-cap parrotfish

Figure 12

Material examined: Underwater photograph.

Distinctive characters: Body depth 2.4–2.9 in SL; dorsal profile of head straight; posterior nostril subequal to anterior nostril; teeth fully fused to form dental plates, about three-fourths or more covered by lips; cutting edge of dental plates usually nearly smooth, sometimes slightly irregular; no lateral conical teeth on dental plates; caudal fin deeply emarginate in terminal males. Meristic values: Pectoral-fin rays 14; median predorsal scales 5–6, fourth or fifth largest; cheek with 3 scale rows, lower row with 1–4 scales.

Colouration: Initial phase dark gray dorsally with four yellow bars on upper two-fifths of body, pale gray ventrally; head with black stripe through eye ending at posterior margin of opercle. Terminal males dark purplish gray in triangular zone on dorsal part of head and dorsoanterior half of body, rest of body green, the scale edges lavender-pink; head abruptly lavender-pink ventrally, with a short green or magenta band on chin; a short green stripe usually through dorsal edge of eye; caudal fin blue-green, with lavender pink stripes.

Distribution: Red Sea south to South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal), most islands of the WIO, east to the Andaman Sea and western Sumatra, Indonesia. Known in the Arabian region from the southern Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Socotra Archipelago, to southern Oman (Randall & Bruce 1983; Randall 1995; Lips et al. 2016).

Remarks: Observed single initial phase matches the description of Scarus scaber (Randall & Bruce 1983; Randall 1995), supporting the tentative record of Zajonz et al. (2019). It was photographed at northern Samha Island in a coral-rich habitat at 10 m depth.