Acanthurus triostegus

Acanthurus triostegus, the convict surgeonfish, convict surgeon, convict tang or fiveband surgeonfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae which includes the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. This species has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.

Acanthurus triostegus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Acanthuridae
Genus: Acanthurus
Species:
A. triostegus
Binomial name
Acanthurus triostegus
Synonyms[2]
  • Chaetodon triostegus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Acanthurus triostegus triostegus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Hepatus triostegus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Rhombotides triostegus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Teuthis triostegus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Harpurus fasciatus Forster, 1801
  • Acanthurus zebra Lacepède, 1802
  • Chaetodon couaga Lacepède, 1802
  • Teuthis australis Gray, 1827
  • Acanthurus hirundo Bennett, 1829
  • Acanthurus subarmatus Bennett, 1840
  • Acanthurus pentazona Bleeker, 1850
  • Rhombotides pentazona (Bleeker, 1850)
  • Acanthurus triostegus sandvicensis Streets, 1877
  • Hepatus sandvicensis (Streets, 1877)
  • Teuthis sandvicensis (Streets, 1877)
  • Teuthis elegans Garman, 1899
  • Teuthis troughtoni Whitley, 1928
  • Acanthurus triostegus marquesensis Schultz & Woods, 1948

Taxonomy

Acanthurus triostegus was first formally described in 1758 as Chaetodon triostegus by Carl Linnaeus, the description being published in the 10 edition of Systema Naturae with its type locality given as "Indies".[3] The genus Acanthurus is one of two genera in the tribe Acanthurini which is one of three tribes in the subfamily Acanthurinae which is one of two subfamilies in the family Acanthuridae.[4]

Etymology

Acanthurus triostegus was given the specific name triostegus which means "three covers", this may refer to the three branchiostegal membranes.[5]

Description

The convict tang is so called because of its bold black stripes on a yellowish background. It is a laterally-compressed oval-shaped fish[6] with a maximum length of about 26–27 cm (10–11 in).[2][6] The head is small with a pointed snout and a terminal mouth with thick lips. It has six black stripes which distinguishes it from the zebra tang (Acanthurus polyzona) which has nine, and has a more restricted range in the Indian Ocean. The first black stripe is oblique and passes through the eye. There are two black spots on the caudal peduncle, and on each side there is a sharp, retractable spine, which is used in offence or defence.[6]

Distribution and habitat

Acanthurus triostegus occurs in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. Its range extends from the East African coast and Madagascar to southwestern Japan, Australia and Central America, including many Pacific island groups. It is found over hard bottoms in lagoons, reef slopes, bays and estuaries. Juveniles are common in tide pools, and larger fish are found at depths down to about 90 m (300 ft).[1]

Biology

Acanthurus triostegus frequently feed in the vicinity of freshwater discharges, grazing filamentous algae off the rocks.[2] Typically these tangs graze on filamentous algae growing on coral or rocky substrates. The adults aggregate in larhe schools to feed and these overwhelm damselfishes attempting to defend their territories.[7] The males and females gather in aggegations to spawn.[8]

Utilisation

Acanthurus triostegus is targeted as a food fish in many parts of its range and in some areas is commercially targeted. In Hawaii it is fished for by recreational anglers and it is also caught for the aquarium trade.[1]

References
  1. Abesamis, R.; Clements, K. D.; Choat, J. H.; et al. (2012). "Acanthurus triostegus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T177965A1504553. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T177965A1504553.en. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2023). "Acanthurus triostegus" in FishBase. June 2023 version.
  3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Acanthurus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  4. J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 497–502. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
  5. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (12 January 2021). "Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 2): Families EPHIPPIDAE, LEIOGNATHIDAE, SCATOPHAGIDAE, ANTIGONIIDAE, SIGANIDAE, CAPROIDAE, LUVARIDAE, ZANCLIDAE and ACANTHURIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  6. Lamare, Véronique; Mitel, Cédric (4 August 2018). "Acanthurus triostegus" (in French). DORIS. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  7. John E. Randall (2022). "Family Acanthuridae". In Phillip C Heemstra; Elaine Heemstra; David A Ebert; Wouter Holleman; John E Randall (eds.). Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean (PDF). Vol. 5. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. pp. 219–244. ISBN 978-1-990951-32-9.
  8. Dianne J. Bray. "Acanthurus triostegus". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
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