Conspecific agonistic behaviour in the Mediterranean parrotfish

Abstract

Aggressive behaviour in fishes, particularly in territorial species, is a common trait used to defend resources such as food or mates. Territorial males of the Mediterranean parrotfish Sparisoma cretense have been described to chase away conspecifics yet other aggressive behaviour repertoire has not been reported for this species. We describe, for the first time, an extreme aggressive behaviour between two male Mediterranean parrotfish which includes biting and prolonged mouth locking.