midnight parrotfish
Scarus coelestinus Valenciennes, 1840
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The midnight parrotfish (Scarus coelestinus) is a species of parrotfish that inhabits coral reefs mainly in the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Florida.
The typical size is between 30 and 60 cm, but it can grow to almost 1 m. It has been observed as far north as Maryland and as far south as Brazil. Usually found between 3 and 80 m deep, it swims over reefs and sandy areas, where it feeds on algae by scraping it with its teeth fused into a beak.
Wikipedia contributors, Midnight parrotfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:41:12.863226+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Scarus coelestinus Valenciennes, 1840
- Name authority
- Valenciennes, 1840
- Common name
- midnight parrotfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Family
- Labridae
- Genus
- Scarus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- familyLabridae Cuvier, 1816
- subfamilyScarinae Rafinesque, 1810
- tribeScarini Rafinesque, 1810
- genusScarus Forsskål, 1775
- speciesScarus coelestinus Valenciennes, 1840
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Scarus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Scarus arabicus (Steindachner, 1902) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scarus chameleon Choat & Randall, 1986 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scarus chinensis (Steindachner, 1867) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scarus dubius Bennett, 1828 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| festive parrotfishScarus festivus Valenciennes, 1840 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scarus flavipectoralis Schultz, 1958 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| bridled parrotfishScarus frenatus Lacepède, 1802 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scarus fuscocaudalis Randall & Myers, 2000 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| purple-brown parrotfishScarus fuscopurpureus (Klunzinger, 1871) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| globehead parrotfishScarus globiceps Valenciennes, 1840 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scarus gracilis (Steindachner, 1869) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scarus hypselopterus Bleeker, 1853 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Scarus coelastinus Valenciennes, 1840 Valenciennes, 1840 | synonym |
| Scarus rostratus Poey, 1860 Poey, 1860 | synonym |
| Pseudoscarus plumbeus Bean, 1912 Bean, 1912 | synonym |
| Pseudoscarus simplex Poey, 1865 Poey, 1865 | synonym |
| Pseudoscarus coelestinus (Valenciennes, 1840) (Valenciennes, 1840) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Cuvier, G.; Valenciennes A. (1840). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome Quatorzième. Suite Du Livre Seizième. Labroïdes. Livre Dix-Septième. Des Malacoptérygiens. Pitois-Levrault, Paris., v. 14: i–xxii + 2 pp. + 1–464 + 4 pp., Pls. 389–420. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4V3H9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.