- Habitat
- Reef
- Max size
- 23 cm
- Depth
- 5-182 m
- Family
- Zanclidae
The Moorish idol is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zanclidae. It is the only member of the monospecific genus Zanclus and the only extant species within the Zanclidae. This species is found on reefs in the Indo-Pacific region.
Adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Side by side, with what tells them apart.
The classic mix-up: white, black and yellow, with a long white filament trailing from the dorsal fin. Moorish Idol has a tube-like snout with a yellow saddle on it, a black tail edged in white, and small bony bumps above the eyes in adults. Pennant Coralfish has a short snout, a yellow tail with no black on it, and its yellow is on the fins behind the second black band.
See the Pennant Coralfish →
White, black and yellow, with a long white dorsal filament. Moorish Idol has a tube-like snout with a yellow saddle, and a black tail edged in white. Schooling Bannerfish has a short, spotted snout and a yellow tail, and it is the one seen in large schools off the reef.
See the Schooling Bannerfish →