Acanthurus nigricauda, Epaulette surgeonfish : fisheries, aquarium

Acanthurus nigricauda Duncker & Mohr, 1929

Epaulette surgeonfish
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Acanthurus nigricauda   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Acanthurus nigricauda (Epaulette surgeonfish)
Acanthurus nigricauda
Picture by Greenfield, J.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > 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 Ecology

Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 30 m (Ref. 9710), usually 2 - 15 m (Ref. 27115). Tropical; 23°C - 28°C (Ref. 27115); 30°N - 24°S, 39°E - 143°W

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: East Africa, including the Mascarene Islands (Ref. 37792) to the Tuamoto Islands, north to Ryukyu Islands, south to southern Great Barrier Reef. Not occurring in the Red Sea.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 18.4  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 45.3 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 125599); max. published weight: 2.7 kg (Ref. 125599)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 25 - 28; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 23 - 26. Color in life dark brown without lines on body or spots on head (one phase is purplish grey); horizontal black band behind upper gill opening absent on juveniles <6 cm SL; elongate purple band may be present anterior to dorsal origin; caudal fin brown; outer third of pectoral fin pale. Species with gizzard-like stomach.
Body shape (shape guide): short and / or deep; Cross section: compressed.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs in clear lagoon and seaward reefs around isolated coral heads. Solitary or in small groups (Ref. 90102). Prefers sandy bottoms of bays and lagoons rather than the coral reefs like most other Acanthuridae. The species is sometimes poisonous (Ref. 4795). Caught with nets (Ref. 30573). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Probably spawn in pairs (Ref. 240).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Randall, John E. | Collaborators

Randall, J.E., 1987. Three nomenclatorial changes in Indo-Pacific surgeonfishes (Acanthurinae). Pac. Sci. 41(1-4):54-61. (Ref. 1921)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 04 May 2010

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Poisonous to eat (Ref. 4795)





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search |