Acanthurus xanthopterus, Yellowfin surgeonfish : fisheries, aquarium

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Acanthurus xanthopterus Valenciennes, 1835

Yellowfin surgeonfish
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Acanthurus xanthopterus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Acanthurus xanthopterus (Yellowfin surgeonfish)
Acanthurus xanthopterus
Picture by Alban Choinier/Magazine des Voyages de Pêche

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Acanthuriformes (Surgeonfishes) > Acanthuridae (Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes) > Acanthurinae
Etymology: Acanthurus: Greek, akantha = thorn + Greek, oura = tail (Ref. 45335);  xanthopterus: Name from Greek 'xanthos' for yellow and 'ptero' for fin; referring to the yellow color of the outer part of the pectoral fin (Ref. 37792).
More on author: Valenciennes.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 100 m (Ref. 9267), usually 5 - 90 m (Ref. 27115). Tropical; 24°C - 28°C (Ref. 27115); 35°N - 35°S, 23°E - 77°W

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

Indo-Pacific: coast of East Africa to the Hawaiian Islands and French Polynesia, north to southern Japan, south to the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia. Eastern Pacific: lower Gulf of California and Clipperton Island to Panama and the Galapagos Islands.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 70.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4795); common length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30573); max. reported age: 29 years (Ref. 127555)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 8 - 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 25-27; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 23 - 25. Body purplish gray when alive; grayish brown when preserved; a region of dull yellow in front of eye, a lesser extension posterior to lower part of eye; outer 1/3 of pectoral fin yellow, extreme distal part hyaline; dorsal and anal fins yellowish grey basally, dull yellow distally; caudal fin base whitish; caudal fin purplish. Anterior gill rakers 16-24, posterior 17-22. Caudal spine small.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Live in various reef habitats, sand slopes and lagoons (Ref. 48637). Juveniles inhabit shallow, protected, turbid inshore waters while adults prefer deeper areas of protected bays and lagoons. Also in outer reef areas (Ref. 1602). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Schooling species, feed on diatoms, detritus film of sand, filamentous algae, hydroids, and pieces of fish (Ref. 1602, 48637). Probably the only surgeonfish that readily takes bait (Ref. 12484).

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

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

Randall, J.E., 1956. A revision of the surgeonfish genus Acanthurus. Pac. Sci. 10(2):159-235. (Ref. 1920)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 04 May 2010

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Venomous (Ref. 4716)





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 23.3 - 29, mean 27.7 °C (based on 2980 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01413 (0.00613 - 0.03255), b=3.00 (2.79 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.9   ±0.23 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 3.8 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.287; Tmax=34).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (37 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 33.2 [15.3, 112.0] mg/100g; Iron = 0.603 [0.209, 1.707] mg/100g; Protein = 19 [18, 20] %; Omega3 = 0.143 [0.065, 0.314] g/100g; Selenium = 22.5 [7.9, 74.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 46.5 [18.2, 115.5] μg/100g; Zinc = 2.15 [0.68, 3.89] mg/100g (wet weight);