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Acanthurus nigricauda Duncker & Mohr, 1929

Epaulette surgeonfish
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Acanthurus nigricauda   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Acanthurus nigricauda (Epaulette surgeonfish)
Acanthurus nigricauda
Picture by Greenfield, J.

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).

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

Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 30 m (Ref. 9710), usually 2 - 15 m (Ref. 27115). Tropical; 23°C - 28°C (Ref. 27115); 30°N - 24°S, 39°E - 143°W

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

Indo-Pacific: East Africa, including the Mascarene Islands (Ref. 37792) to the Tuamoto Islands, north to Ryukyu Islands, south to southern Great Barrier Reef. Not occurring in the Red Sea.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 18.4  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 45.3 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 125599); max. published weight: 2.7 kg (Ref. 125599)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 25 - 28; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 23 - 26. Color in life dark brown without lines on body or spots on head (one phase is purplish grey); horizontal black band behind upper gill opening absent on juveniles <6 cm SL; elongate purple band may be present anterior to dorsal origin; caudal fin brown; outer third of pectoral fin pale. Species with gizzard-like stomach.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs in clear lagoon and seaward reefs around isolated coral heads. Solitary or in small groups (Ref. 90102). Prefers sandy bottoms of bays and lagoons rather than the coral reefs like most other Acanthuridae. The species is sometimes poisonous (Ref. 4795). Caught with nets (Ref. 30573). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Probably spawn in pairs (Ref. 240).

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

Randall, J.E., 1987. Three nomenclatorial changes in Indo-Pacific surgeonfishes (Acanthurinae). Pac. Sci. 41(1-4):54-61. (Ref. 1921)

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

  Poisonous to eat (Ref. 4795)





Human uses

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

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
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Distribution
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FAO areas
Ecosystems
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BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
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Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
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References

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 25.3 - 29.3, mean 28.4 °C (based on 2616 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02344 (0.01969 - 0.02790), b=2.95 (2.91 - 2.99), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.0   ±0.40 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 1.8 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (26 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 52.9 [22.4, 157.8] mg/100g; Iron = 0.704 [0.257, 1.764] mg/100g; Protein = 18.9 [17.9, 20.0] %; Omega3 = 0.119 [0.053, 0.257] g/100g; Selenium = 16.6 [5.6, 60.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 34.8 [9.9, 119.3] μg/100g; Zinc = 2.52 [0.80, 4.71] mg/100g (wet weight);