''Acanthurus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Acanthuridae Acanthuridae are the family of surgeonfishes, tangs, and unicornfishes. The family includes about 86 extant species of marine fish living in tropical seas, usually around coral reefs. Many of the species are brightly colored and popular in aq ...

found in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. They are found in tropical oceans, especially near

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

s, with most

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

but a few are found in the Atlantic Ocean. As other members of the family, they have a pair of spines, one on either side of the base of the

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...

which are dangerously sharp.

Species

There are currently 41 recognized species in this genus: * ''

Acanthurus achilles ''Acanthurus achilles'', commonly known as Achilles tang or Achilles surgeonfish, is a tropical marine fish native to the Pacific Ocean. Description They are a medium surgeonfish reaching a maximum of at adulthood. ''Acanthurus achilles'' are b ...

'' G. Shaw, 1803 (Achilles surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus albimento'' K. E. Carpenter, J. T. Williams & M. D. Santos, 2017 (White-chin surgeonfish)Carpenter, K.E., Williams, J.T. & Santos, M.D. (2017)
''Acanthurus albimento'', a new species of surgeonfish (Acanthuriformes: Acanthuridae) from northeastern Luzon, Philippines, with comments on zoogeography.
''Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, 25: 33–46.'' * '' Acanthurus albipectoralis'' G. R. Allen & Ayling, 1987 (White-fin surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus auranticavus'' J. E. Randall, 1956 (Orange-socket surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus bahianus'' Castelnau, 1855 (Barber surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus bariene''

Lesson A lesson or class is a structured period of time where learning is intended to occur. It involves one or more students (also called pupils or learners in some circumstances) being taught by a teacher or instructor. A lesson may be either one ...

, 1831 (Black-spot surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus blochii''

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, 1835 (Ring-tail surgeonfish) * ''

Acanthurus chirurgus ''Acanthurus chirurgus'', commonly called doctorfish or doctorfish tang in English and ''barbero rayado'' or ''cirujano rayado'' in Spanish, is a tropical marine fish common in the Atlantic Ocean. Description Reaching a maximum size of and , ''A ...

'' (

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A–F * (1859-1914), French rabbi *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881-1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter * (born 1972), German motor journal ...

, 1787) (Doctorfish tang) * '' Acanthurus chronixis'' J. E. Randall, 1960 (Chronixis surgeonfish) * ''

Acanthurus coeruleus ''Acanthurus coeruleus'' is a surgeonfish found commonly in the Atlantic Ocean. It can grow up to long.Figueiredo, J.L. and N.A. Menezes, (2000). ''Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. VI. Teleostei (5)''. Museu de Zoologia, Universid ...

& J. G. Schneider, 1801 (Atlantic blue tang) * ''

Acanthurus dussumieri ''Acanthurus dussumieri'', commonly known as Dussumier's surgeonfish, the eye-stripe surgeonfish or the ornate surgeonfish, is a ray-finned fish from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a maximum ...

, 1835 (Eye-stripe surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus fowleri'' de Beaufort, 1951 (Fowler's surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus gahhm'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (Black surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus grammoptilus'' J. Richardson, 1843 (Fine-lined surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus guttatus'' J. R. Forster, 1801 (White-spotted surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus japonicus'' ( P. J. Schmidt, 1931) (Japan surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus leucocheilus'' Herre, 1927 (Pale-lipped surgeonfish) * ''

Acanthurus leucopareius ''Acanthurus leucopareius'' is a sub-tropical fish known commonly as the whitebar surgeonfish or the head-band surgeonfish. It is somewhat commercial in fisheries and is used in aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') i ...

'' ( O. P. Jenkins, 1903) (White-bar surgeonfish) * ''

Acanthurus leucosternon ''Acanthurus leucosternon'' is a Marine biology, marine tropical fish belonging to the surgeonfish Family (biology), family, Acanthuridae. Its common names are powder blue tang and powder-blue surgeonfish. Description The fish can reach an avera ...

'' E. T. Bennett, 1833 (Powder-blue surgeonfish) * ''

Acanthurus lineatus ''Acanthurus lineatus'', the lined surgeonfish, is a member of the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes. Other common names include blue banded surgeonfish, blue-lined surgeonfish, clown surgeonfish, pyjama tang, striped surgeonfish, and zeb ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

) (Lined surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus maculiceps'' ( C. G. E. Ahl, 1923) (White-freckled surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus mata'' (

G. Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...

, 1829) (Elongate surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus monroviae''

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner describ ...

, 1876 (Monrovia surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus nigricans'' (

) (White-cheek surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus nigricauda'' Duncker & Mohr ( de), 1929 (Epaulette surgeonfish) * ''

Acanthurus nigrofuscus ''Acanthurus nigrofuscus'', also known as the lavender tang, brown tang, or spot-cheeked surgeonfish, is a tang from the Indo-Pacific and Hawaii. It commonly makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to 21 cm in length. Recently, a hu ...

'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (Brown surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus nigroris''

, 1835 (Blue-lined surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus nigros'' Günther, 1861 (Grey-head surgeonfish)Randall, J.E., DiBattista, J.D. & Wilcox, C. (2011): ''Acanthurus nigros'' Günther, a Valid Species of Surgeonfish, Distinct from the Hawaiian ''A. nigroris'' Valenciennes. ''Pacific Science, 65 (2): 265–275.'' * '' Acanthurus nubilus'' ( Fowler & B. A. Bean, 1929) (Pin-striped surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus olivaceus''

& J. G. Schneider, 1801 (Orange-spot surgeonfish) * ''

Acanthurus polyzona ''Acanthurus polyzona'', commonly known as the black-barred surgeonfish or zebra tang, is a tropical fish found in coral reefs in the western Indian Ocean. It was first described in 1868 by the Dutch ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker, who gave it the ...

'' (

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Acanthurus pyroferus ''Acanthurus pyroferus'', chocolate surgeonfish, mimic surgeonfish, orange-gilled surgeonfish, Pacific mimic surgeon, and yellowspot surgeon, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the Family (biology), family Acanthuridae, which inc ...

'' Kittlitz, 1834 (Chocolate surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus randalli'' J. C. Briggs & D. K. Caldwell, 1957 * '' Acanthurus reversus'' J. E. Randall & Earle, 1999 * '' Acanthurus sohal'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (Sohal surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus tennentii'' Günther, 1861 (Double-band surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus thompsoni'' ( Fowler, 1923) (Thompson's surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus tractus'' F. Poey, 1860 (Ocean surgeonfish)Bernal, M.A. & Rocha, L.A. (2011)
''Acanthurus tractus'' Poey, 1860, a valid western Atlantic species of surgeonfish (Teleostei, Acanthuridae), distinct from ''Acanthurus bahianus'' Castelnau, 1855.
''Zootaxa, 2905: 63–68.'' * ''

Acanthurus triostegus ''Acanthurus triostegus'', also known as the convict tang, convict surgeonfish, or manini, is a small surgeonfish in family Acanthuridae of the order Perciformes. It is typically about long, but some individuals may reach 27 cm. These ta ...

'' (

) (Convict surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus tristis'' J. E. Randall, 1993 (Indian Ocean mimic surgeonfish) * '' Acanthurus xanthopterus''

, 1835 (Yellow-fin surgeonfish)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q648200 Acanthuridae Marine fish genera Taxa named by Peter Forsskål