Species group · Bony fish

Surgeonfish

WAnimals has 2 species of surgeonfish, all in the family Acanthuridae.

2 species

1 family

60 countries

38 parks

Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 2.

All 2 species of surgeonfish on WAnimals

Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Palette Surgeonfish

Paracanthurus hepatus

Yellow Tang

Zebrasoma flavescens

2 Least Concern

No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.

Recorded in 60 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

The juveniles hide among the branches of Pocillopora corals and barely leave them; the adults range further and graze in groups across the reef slope.
From Palette Surgeonfish
On each side of the tail base it carries a retractable spine as sharp as a scalpel, which is where the name surgeonfish comes from.
From Palette Surgeonfish
It was first bred in captivity in 2016, after six years of work, to reduce the pressure of the aquarium trade on wild populations.
From Palette Surgeonfish
It has a sharp spine hidden at the base of its tail that it raises in defence when threatened, which is where the surgeonfish family gets its name.
From Yellow Tang
It grazes filamentous algae all day and helps stop algae from smothering the coral; in Hawai'i it is called the gardener of the reef.
From Yellow Tang
It spawns around the full moon, on a lunar cycle, and does so in batches throughout the year.
From Yellow Tang