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Species: Acanthurus coeruleus, Blue Tang Surgeonfish, Blue tang surgeonfish

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blue, + thin wavy lines on side
juv: yellow/blue/ blue + yellow tail
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This Species (15) This Genus (6) Similar Species (5)

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Acanthurus coeruleus Bloch & Schneider, 1801

Blue tang surgeonfish

Body a deep, strongly compressed oval; head profile steep; eye high on side of  head; mouth small, protrusible, low on head; teeth on jaws fixed, with flattened, notched tips, 18 on top jaw, 20 on lower; gill rakers 13-14; dorsal fin IX, 26-28, not very high, no notch after spines; anal fin III, 24-26; pectoral rays 16-17; pelvic fin I, 5; a single depressible spine fits into a groove on the side of the base of the tail; tail fin edge concave, with sharp tips.

Adults blue, sometimes with thin wavy lines along sides; juveniles blue, or yellow, or blue with a yellow tail.

Reaches 36 cm; up to at least 22 years.

Found on reefs and in nearby seagrass beds.

Depth range: 0-71 m.

Massachusetts to Brazil; also the central Atlantic islands of Ascension and St Helena.

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Species Data Create Report Export as Word File Export as Excel File
Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore Only
  • Inshore
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Rocks
  • Reef and soft bottom
  • Corals
  • Submerged vegetation
  • Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
FishBase Habitat
  • Reef Associated
Feeding Group
  • Data
  • Herbivore
Diet
  • Data
  • Benthic microalgae
  • Benthic macroalgae/seagrasses
Egg Type
  • Pelagic larva
  • Data
  • Pelagic
Global Endemism
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
  • All species.
  • Transatlantic (East+West Atlantic)
Regional Endemism
  • All species..
  • Extends N + S of GC
  • Continent
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • Extends North of GC
  • Island (s)
  • Extends South of GC
  • GC non-endemic
  • Also in Brazil
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
  • Temperate (>35N)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
IUCN Red List
  • Listed
  • Least concern
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 36
Depth Range Min
  • 0
Depth Range Max
  • 71