Species: Acanthurus guttatus, Mustard tang, Spotted surgeonfish, Whitespotted surgeonfish

Acanthurus guttatus Forster, 1801

Whitespotted surgeonfish, Spotted surgeonfish, Mustard tang

Body a deep oval; head profile steep; eye high on the head; mouth small, protrusible, low on head; teeth on jaws fixed, with flattened, notched tips, 12 upper teeth, 14 lower teeth; gill rakers 21-24; dorsal rays IX, 27-30; anal rays III, 23-26; pectoral rays 15-17; pelvic fin I, 5; a single, small depressible spine fits into a groove on the side of the base of the tail; tail fin concave; scales very small, rough; lateral line complete.

Head, body and dorsal and anal fins dark grey brown; a white bar on head behind eye and another on body just behind pectoral base; dorsal, anal and body behind second bar with many small white spots; pelvic fins bright yellow; tail fin pale yellow with a broad black rear edge.

Reaches 26 cm

Habitat: Restricted to shallow surgy areas of seaward reef environments.

Depth range:1-6 m

Widely distributed throughout the tropical Indo-central Pacific; introduced to Florida.