Acanthuridae

Surgeonfish; Temporal range: Eocene to Recent
	Sohal surgeonfish, Acanthurus sohal. The orange mark on the tail peduncle shows where the spine is folded in.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Acanthuriformes
Family:	Acanthuridae; Bonaparte, 1832[1]
Genera
	Acanthurus; Ctenochaetus; Naso; Paracanthurus; Prionurus; Zebrasoma;

Acanthuridae is the family of surgeonfish, tangs, and unicornfish.

Acanthurus achilles, from genus Acanthurus

Paracanthurus hepatus, a poison fish.

The family includes about 86 living species. It is made up of marine fish living in tropical seas, usually around coral reefs. Many of the species are brightly colored and popular for aquaria.

One of the characteristics of this family is that they have spines on the tail (also known as "thorn tail").[2]

Size

Most species of the family are of small size, between 15-40 cm (6-15 in), but the genera Prionorus or Naso can be larger.

References

"Institute for Biodiversity Science & Sustainability | California Academy of Sciences". Research.calacademy.org. July 27, 2014. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
Froese, R.; Pauly, D. (February 2022). "FAMILY Details for Acanthuridae - Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes". www.fishbase.se. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "Institute for Biodiversity Science & Sustainability | California Academy of Sciences". Research.calacademy.org. July 27, 2014. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2016.

[2] Froese, R.; Pauly, D. (February 2022). "FAMILY Details for Acanthuridae - Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes". www.fishbase.se. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.