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Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Acanthuridae (Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes) > Acanthurinae
Etymology: Acanthurus: Greek, akantha = thorn + Greek, oura = tail (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 67 m (Ref. 1602), usually 2 - 67 m (Ref. 27115). Tropical; 21°C - 29°C (Ref. 27115), preferred ?; 30°N - 24°S

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

Eastern Indian Ocean: known only from Cocos-Keeling Islands and Christmas Island. Pacific Ocean: Ryukyu Islands and Great Barrier Reef to the Hawaiian Islands and French Polynesia (excluding Rapa). This species has crossed the Eastern Pacific Barrier to the Revillagigedo Islands, Cocos Island, Galapagos Islands, and the coast of Mexico.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 21.3 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2334); max. reported age: 34 years (Ref. 52229)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 28-31; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 26 - 28. A horizontally elongate white blotch directly below eye. No orange band in outer part of dorsal fin. Caudal peduncle black except for yellow edge of socket and sheath of peduncular spine. Base of pectoral fin black (ref 9808).Gill rakers on anterior row:17-19, on posterior row:18-20.

Adults inhabit hard substrate areas of clear lagoon and seaward reefs from the lower surge zone to at least 67 m and feeds on filamentous algae. Solitary or in groups (Ref. 90102). Monogamous (Ref. 52884, 48637). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Small juveniles shy among large corals (Ref. 48637). Territorial species. Common throughout Micronesia and hybridizes with the rare A. achilles. Size of metamorphosis from the postlarva stage to juvenile is 5.5 to 6 cm (Ref. 9267).

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

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

Myers, R.F., 1991. Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p. (Ref. 1602)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Least Concern (LC)

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial

FAO(Publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

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Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02570 (0.01449 - 0.04560), b=2.93 (2.78 - 3.08), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278): 2.0 ±0.00 se; Based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 69278): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.28; tmax=34).

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (34 of 100) .

Price category (Ref. 80766): Medium.

Acanthurus nigricans (Linnaeus, 1758)