Item

Abstract

Parrotfishes are commonly exploited in artisanal fisheries in tropical and subtropical areas. Given their prolonged use, they are common finds in archaeological sites from Oceania. Despite their high occurrence in archaeozoological assemblages, the degree to which they have been exploited is difficult to estimate without any length and weight data. Here, we present an osteometric model for Chlorurus mircrorhinos, an ubiquitous species from the west-central Pacific Ocean, based on reliable body-length reconstruction from isolated skeletal parts. We collected 30 specimens from French Polynesia ranging between 336-713 mm total length and 304-5341 g fresh weight. The length-weight relationship was W = 3.36E-06*FL3.2960 with r2 higher than 0.9. The model is based on neurocranium, premaxilla, dentary, maxilla, anguloarticular, quadrate, hyomandibula and the upper and lower pharyngeals. For each bone, three measurements were taken and the values were plotted against the fork length. All selected bones have at least one regression equation with a high r2 (> 0.9) allowing reliable estimation of length and weight of C. microrhinos from its skeletal components. This study provides useful data for studies where bone conservation is affected by variable taphonomic factors or differential preservation, such as the stomach content of scarid predators, or archaeological and paleontological assemblages in Oceania.