‹ Fish Finder· #008
Brown Surgeonfish
Acanthurus nigrofuscus
Bislamastrongskin— names this kind of animal, not this species alone
- Habitat
- Reef
- Max size
- 21 cm
- Depth
- 2-25 m
- Family
- Acanthuridae
Acanthurus nigrofuscus, the brown surgeonfish, blackspot surgeonfish, brown tang, dusky surgeon, lavender tang or spot-cheeked surgeonfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, which includes the surgeonfishes, unicornishes and tangs. This species is a common and abundant fish occurring across a wide Indo-Pacific range.
Adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Side by side, with what tells them apart.
Both are small brown surgeonfish with a black spot at the rear base of the dorsal and anal fins. Twospot Surgeonfish is orange-brown with a blue ring around the eye, pale spots on the head and chest and pale lines along the sides, and its young have a yellow tail. Brown Surgeonfish is brown to purplish, with small orange spots on the head and a black ring around the tail spine.
See the Twospot Surgeonfish →
Two small brown surgeonfish that graze together in mixed schools. Striated Surgeonfish is dark olive-brown with fine blue-grey lines along the body, small orange spots on the head and nape, and lengthwise bluish bands in the dorsal and anal fins. Brown Surgeonfish is brown to purplish, with orange spots on the head and breast, at most faint rows of blue dots, a black spot at the rear base of the dorsal and anal fins, and a black ring around the tail spine.
See the Striated Surgeonfish →