Parrotfishes (Teleostei: Labridae: Scarini) of the Socotra Archipelago: Diversity and distributional biogeography, including a range extension of Scarus zufar Randall & Hoover, 1995 Author Zajonz, Uwe Senckenberg Research Institute and Museum of Nature (SMF), Marine Zoology-Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Author Bogorodsky, Sergey V. Senckenberg Research Institute and Museum of Nature (SMF), Marine Zoology-Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. & Station of Naturalists, Omsk, Russia. Author Saeed, Fouad K. N. Senckenberg Research Institute and Museum of Nature (SMF), Marine Zoology-Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. & Environmental Protection Authority, Socotra Branch, Hadibo, Yemen. Author Aideed, Moteah S. Senckenberg Research Institute and Museum of Nature (SMF), Marine Zoology-Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. & Maritime Affairs Authority, Mukalla, Yemen. Author Lavergne, Edouard text Zootaxa 2023 2023-12-20 5389 3 301 330 https://mapress.com/zt/article/download/zootaxa.5389.3.1/52519 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.5389.3.1 1175-5326 10410051 3E7237B4-85C5-4581-B469-ED1C00154413 Scarus ghobban Fabricius, 1775 Scarus ghobban Fabricius (ex Forsskål) in Niebuhr, 1775: 28 ; no types known; type locality: Jeddah , Saudi Arabia , Red Sea . Bluebarred Parrotfish Figure 9 Material examined: Underwater photographs; SMF uncatalogued [sample of tissue SOC19-468], initial phase, 48 m SL, Socotra Island , landing site at Hadibo , 19 April 2019 . Distinctive characters: Body depth 2.4–2.9 in SL; dorsal profile of head of terminal males slightly convex; posterior nostril distinctly larger than anterior nostril, 2–5 times as large as anterior; teeth fully fused to form dental plates, one-half to four-fifths covered by lips; cutting edge of upper dental plate smooth, of lower plate only slightly irregular; upper dental plate usually with 2 conical teeth posteriorly in terminal males and large initial phase; caudal fin lunate in terminal males. Meristic values: Pectoral-fin rays 15; median predorsal scales 6, fourth largest; cheek with 3 scale rows, lower row with 1–2 scales. Colouration : Initial phase orange-yellow, grading to yellowish or pinkish ventrally, with blue scales dorsally, gradually changing to round blue spot on most scales ventrally; head with a short green stripe at corner of mouth, a short green bar on chin, and a short one posterior to middle of eye. Terminal males green dorsally, the scale edges salmon pink, with a faint, irregular dark blue bar across middle of body; head with an irregular band extending from lower lip ending at preopercular margin and with deep purple spot bordered posteriorly by blue on chin. Distribution: Red Sea south to South Africa , Madagascar , and the Mascarene Islands, east to south-western Indonesia . Known from the entire Arabian region, from the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden (including eastern part), Socotra Archipelago and Oman , to the Arabian /Persian Gulf and Pakistan ( Randall & Bruce 1983 ; Randall 1995; Buchanan et al . 2015 ; Psomadakis et al . 2015 ; Lips et al . 2016 ). Remarks: Observed individuals and collected specimens match the description of Scarus ghobban ( Randall & Bruce 1983 ; Randall 1995), supporting the record of Zajonz et al . (2019) . One of the most common species, seen in all islands of the Archipelago and in a wide variety of habitats. Initial phases and terminal males found from south-western to north-eastern parts of Socotra Island on rocky reefs with interspersed sand at depths of 3–15 m ; juveniles observed along the south coast in areas with algal growth.