Actinopteri (ray-finned fishes) > Acanthuriformes
(Surgeonfishes) > Acanthuridae
(Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes) > Acanthurinae
Etymology: Acanthurus: Greek, akantha = thorn + Greek, oura = tail (Ref. 45335).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 20 m (Ref. 48637), usually 5 - 15 m (Ref. 27115). Tropical; 24°C - 28°C (Ref. 27115)
Indo-West Pacific: Sulawesi (Indonesia) to Philippines and Ryukyu Islands.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 21.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710)
soft rays: 26 - 29. A broad white band extending from lower edge of eye to upper lip. A bright orange band in outer part of soft portion of dorsal fin. Caudal peduncle yellow, shading to black a short distance anteriorly. Base of pectoral fins yellow (Ref 9808).
In clear lagoon and seaward reefs, usually in shallow exposed areas. Found in small to large aggregations (Ref. 48637). Sometimes solitary (Ref. 90102).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Lieske, E. and R. Myers, 1994. Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p. (Ref. 9710)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 125652)
Threat to humans
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningSpawning aggregationFecundityEggsEgg development
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingNutrientsMass conversion
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969
): 25.8 - 29.3, mean 28.7 °C (based on 1775 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02291 (0.01088 - 0.04824), b=2.96 (2.79 - 3.13), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-BS (Ref. 93245
Trophic level (Ref. 69278
): 2.3 ±0.1 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 120179
): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Low vulnerability (11 of 100) .
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649
): (0 of 100) .
Nutrients (Ref. 124155
): Calcium = 87.9 [28.3, 210.3] mg/100g ; Iron = 0.988 [0.383, 2.548] mg/100g ; Protein = 18.5 [17.4, 19.6] % ; Omega3 = 0.12 [0.06, 0.25] g/100g ; Selenium = 17.7 [6.2, 50.0] μg/100g ; VitaminA = 29.4 [7.7, 109.0] μg/100g ; Zinc = 2.8 [0.9, 5.4] mg/100g (wet weight);