Yellowfin surgeonfish

  Tropical reef fish

Identity card

Yellowfin surgeonfish

Scientific name:
Acanthurus xanthopterus
Family:
Acanthuridae
Class:
Actinopterygii
Phylum:
Chordata
Year of description:
1835, Valenciennes
IUCN Status:
Least Concern
Distribution:

Indo-Pacific: coast of East Africa to the Hawaiian Islands and French Polynesia, Japan, south to the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia, and the eastern Pacific.

Habitat:

Coral reefs, sandy slopes, lagoons at depths between 1 and 100 m. Juveniles in shallow waters, adults in the protective depths of bays and lagoons.

Size:

50 cm, up to 70 cm.

Diet:

Diatoms, detrital film of sand, filamentous algae, hydroids and pieces of fish.

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