''Prionurus punctatus,'' is a
tropical fish
Tropical fish are generally those fish found in aquatic tropical environments around the world. Fishkeepers often keep tropical fish in freshwater and saltwater aquariums. The term "tropical fish" is not a taxonomic group, but rather is a gene ...
found in reefs in the East Pacific from the
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja Ca ...
to
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
.
[''Prionurus punctatus''](_blank)
at www.fishbase.org. It is commonly known as the Yellowtail surgeonfish. It is sometimes used in aquariums.
The 3 bony spines sticking out of their tail allow for a sharp defense mechanism, which can be harmful to both other fish and fisherman.
It is found in schools on shallow reefs, feeding diurnally and primarily on algae in rocky areas.
It is generally a nonselective grazer, but avoid brown (''Dictyota'', ''Padina'', ''Sargassum'') and red algae (''Liagora'').
References
External links
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Prionurus
Fish described in 1862
{{Acanthuridae-stub