NASO LITURATUS - (FORSTER, 1801)
Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Acanthuriformes (Order) > Acanthuridae (Family) > Naso (Genus)
Nason à éperons orange du Pacifique, Nason à éperons jaune, Clown tang, Striped unicornfish, Clown unicornfish, Clown surgeonfish, Orange-spine unicorn, Orangespine unicornfish, Stripe-face unicornfish, Black-finned unicornfish, Orange-spine unicornfish, Smooth-headed unicornfish, Stripe-faced unicorn fish, Stripe-faced unicorn-fish, Pacific orange-spine unicorn, Yellowkeel unicornfish, Barbero de aguijón naranja, Miyako-tenguhagi, ミヤコテングハギ, 제주표문쥐치, 剥皮仔, 正吊,
Synonymes
Acanthurus harpurus (Shaw, 1829)
Acanthurus lituratus (Forster, 1801)
Callicanthus literatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Callicanthus lituratus (Forster, 1801)
Monoceros ecornis (Ehrenberg, 1829)
Monoceros garretti (Seale, 1901)
Naseus incornis (Cuvier, 1829)
Naso literatus (Forster, 1801)
Prionurus eoume (Lesson, 1831)
Prionurus filamentosus (Liénard, 1891)
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Description
Dorsal spines (total): 5-7 (usually: 6); Dorsal soft rays (total): 28-31 (usually: 27) ; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 27-30 (usually: 28-29); Pectoral fin rays: 16-17 (usually: 17); Body depths of adults: 2.6-3.0 in SL; Teeth of adults incisiform, smooth-edged, with rounded ends, 30-35 in jaws. Head dorsal profile sloping and smoothly convex (forehead no horn nor protuberances); Two large peduncular plates, the keels with forward-projecting points in adults; Caudal fin emaginate in young and truncate in adults, adult males having trailing filaments from each corner. Max. length: 46.0 cm SL. Depth range: 0 - 90 m, usually: 5 - 30 m.
Color
Body brown to bluish gray, ventral half yellowish gray to yellow, the demarcation along middle of side often abrupt and irregular; Edge of opercle and preopercle usually with a dark brown band; Margin of lower lip broadly white with upper surface of tongue black in adults; Gill rakers are blackish basally; Blue caudal fin with a broad, brownish yellow, posterior border which narrows toward corners of fin; It is capable of changing overall into light grayish blue, as when at a cleaning station; When in courtship the males quickly display a broad, bluish white zone on the nape and anterior part of the body, followed by narrow bars of the same color that extend onto lower side.
Etymology
Naso: from Latin, nasus = nose. Referring to “protuberance in the shape of a horn or a large magnifying glass on the nose” (translation, actually forehead) on adults of Naso fronticornis (= unicornis).
lituratus: from Latin, lituratus = to erase, a blur, having indistinct spots, paler at the margins. Referring to faint vertical stripes on sides, which appear almost “erased”.
Original description: Acanthurus lituratus Forster, 1801 - Type locality: no locality stated (Tahiti, Society Islands, French Polynesia, South Pacific).
Distribution
Eastern Indian Ocean, western and central Pacific: Christmas and Cocos-Keeling islands and Indonesia east to Hawaiian Islands and Pitcairn Group, north to southern Japan, south to Western Australia, Queensland (Australia), New Caledonia, Tonga and Rapa.
Biology
Found in areas of coral, rock, or rubble of lagoon and seaward reefs. Benthopelagic. Adults usually in small groups. Juveniles in shallow rocky reefs, sometimes in small aggregations mixed with other acanthurids of similar size. Feed mainly on leafy brown algae (Sargassum and Dictyota). Sometimes in large aggregations. Very seldom poisonous. Pair-spawning has been observed.
Similar species
Naso elegans (Rüppell, 1829) - Reported from Red Sea; Indian Ocean: East Africa, KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), Socotra, Seychelles, Madagascar and western Mascarenes east to Andaman Sea and western Indonesia, excluding the northwestern Indian Ocean.
Last update: 9, May 2022
Nason à éperons orange du Pacifique, Nason à éperons jaune, Clown tang, Striped unicornfish, Clown unicornfish, Clown surgeonfish, Orange-spine unicorn, Orangespine unicornfish, Stripe-face unicornfish, Black-finned unicornfish, Orange-spine unicornfish, Smooth-headed unicornfish, Stripe-faced unicorn fish, Stripe-faced unicorn-fish, Pacific orange-spine unicorn, Yellowkeel unicornfish, Barbero de aguijón naranja, Miyako-tenguhagi, ミヤコテングハギ, 제주표문쥐치, 剥皮仔, 正吊,
Synonymes
Acanthurus harpurus (Shaw, 1829)
Acanthurus lituratus (Forster, 1801)
Callicanthus literatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Callicanthus lituratus (Forster, 1801)
Monoceros ecornis (Ehrenberg, 1829)
Monoceros garretti (Seale, 1901)
Naseus incornis (Cuvier, 1829)
Naso literatus (Forster, 1801)
Prionurus eoume (Lesson, 1831)
Prionurus filamentosus (Liénard, 1891)
----------------------
Description
Dorsal spines (total): 5-7 (usually: 6); Dorsal soft rays (total): 28-31 (usually: 27) ; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 27-30 (usually: 28-29); Pectoral fin rays: 16-17 (usually: 17); Body depths of adults: 2.6-3.0 in SL; Teeth of adults incisiform, smooth-edged, with rounded ends, 30-35 in jaws. Head dorsal profile sloping and smoothly convex (forehead no horn nor protuberances); Two large peduncular plates, the keels with forward-projecting points in adults; Caudal fin emaginate in young and truncate in adults, adult males having trailing filaments from each corner. Max. length: 46.0 cm SL. Depth range: 0 - 90 m, usually: 5 - 30 m.
Color
Body brown to bluish gray, ventral half yellowish gray to yellow, the demarcation along middle of side often abrupt and irregular; Edge of opercle and preopercle usually with a dark brown band; Margin of lower lip broadly white with upper surface of tongue black in adults; Gill rakers are blackish basally; Blue caudal fin with a broad, brownish yellow, posterior border which narrows toward corners of fin; It is capable of changing overall into light grayish blue, as when at a cleaning station; When in courtship the males quickly display a broad, bluish white zone on the nape and anterior part of the body, followed by narrow bars of the same color that extend onto lower side.
Etymology
Naso: from Latin, nasus = nose. Referring to “protuberance in the shape of a horn or a large magnifying glass on the nose” (translation, actually forehead) on adults of Naso fronticornis (= unicornis).
lituratus: from Latin, lituratus = to erase, a blur, having indistinct spots, paler at the margins. Referring to faint vertical stripes on sides, which appear almost “erased”.
Original description: Acanthurus lituratus Forster, 1801 - Type locality: no locality stated (Tahiti, Society Islands, French Polynesia, South Pacific).
Distribution
Eastern Indian Ocean, western and central Pacific: Christmas and Cocos-Keeling islands and Indonesia east to Hawaiian Islands and Pitcairn Group, north to southern Japan, south to Western Australia, Queensland (Australia), New Caledonia, Tonga and Rapa.
Biology
Found in areas of coral, rock, or rubble of lagoon and seaward reefs. Benthopelagic. Adults usually in small groups. Juveniles in shallow rocky reefs, sometimes in small aggregations mixed with other acanthurids of similar size. Feed mainly on leafy brown algae (Sargassum and Dictyota). Sometimes in large aggregations. Very seldom poisonous. Pair-spawning has been observed.
Similar species
Naso elegans (Rüppell, 1829) - Reported from Red Sea; Indian Ocean: East Africa, KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), Socotra, Seychelles, Madagascar and western Mascarenes east to Andaman Sea and western Indonesia, excluding the northwestern Indian Ocean.
Last update: 9, May 2022