Chlorurus


Chlorurus is a genus of parrotfish from the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Etymology

The word Chlorurus comes from the Greek words 'chloros', which means green and 'oura', which means tail.

Evolution

Chlorurus is most closely related to its sister genus Scarus. Most recent phylogenetic analyses find that the two genera diverged during the late Miocene. In both genera, most of their diversification occurred some time later, within the last 3.5 million years during the Pliocene. In contrast, coral reefs in their modern form were established much earlier, during the Miocene.
A 2012 phylogenetic analysis of 16 of the 18 Chlorurus species recovered 5 major monophyletic clades.

Species

There are 18 species:
SpeciesTerminal phaseInitial phase
Chlorurus atrilunula
Chlorurus bleekeri
Chlorurus bowersi
Chlorurus capistratoides
Chlorurus cyanescens
Chlorurus enneacanthus
Chlorurus frontalis
Chlorurus genazonatus
Chlorurus gibbus
Chlorurus japanensis
Chlorurus microrhinos
Chlorurus oedema
Chlorurus perspicillatus
Chlorurus rhakoura
Randall & Anderson, 1997
Chlorurus sordidus
Chlorurus spilurus
Chlorurus strongylocephalus
Chlorurus troschelii