Morphology study of the otoliths of the parrotfish,<i>Chlorurus sordidus</i>(Forsskål, 1775) and<i>Hipposcarus harid</i>(Forsskål, 1775) from the Red Sea coast of Egypt (Family: Scaridae)

Abstract

In the present study a comparison of the otolith morphology of two species of parrotfish, family Scaridae, collected from the Red Sea coast of Egypt, is conducted to identify the most appropriate taxonomic characters that separate these species. Ontogenetic changes in the otoliths of the two scarid fishes become evident. In the otoliths of Chlorurus sordidus , the following characters are comparable in small-sized adult fishes: otolith width, otolith depth, mesial surface shape, lateral surface shape, shape of sulcus acusticus, column, rostrum and size of rostrum. The otoliths of young adults (GI) C. sordidus differ from the adult ones in 14 out of the 22 characteristics studied. In the otoliths of Hipposcarus harid , the following characters are comparable in small and large fish: otolith width, otolith depth, mesial and lateral surface shapes, shape of sulcus acusticus, rostrum and size of rostrum.