In the spotlight
What is El Niño?
A new El Niño event, described as “very strong”, is set to occur from this spring onwards.
Identity card
Whitespotted surgeonfish
- Scientific name:
- Acanthurus guttatus
- Family:
- Acanthuridae
- Class:
- Actinopterygii
- Phylum:
- Chordata
- Year of description:
- Forster, 1801
- IUCN Status:
- Least Concern
- Distribution:
-
Indo-Pacific: oceanic islands from the western Indian Ocean to the Hawaiian Islands, Marquesas Islands and Tuamoto Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to New Caledonia and Rapa.
- Habitat:
-
It lives in shoals at shallow depths on reef plains subject to swells or currents.
- Size:
Up to 26 cm.
- Diet:
-
Filamentous algae and calcareous algae.
