‹ Fish Finder· #021

Humpnose Unicornfish

Naso tonganus

Bislamastrongskin · sanpepafis— shared across this genus

Humpnose Unicornfish — photo 1 of 4
Photo 1 of 4 · Jean-Lou Justine · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
uncommongreysolitarylargereef
Habitat
Reef
Max size
66 cm
Depth
2-40 m
Family
Acanthuridae

Naso tonganus, the bulbnose unicornfish, hump-nosed unicornfish, humphead unicornfish, or the humpnose unicorn, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. This species is found in the Indo-Pacific. It is of value in commercial fisheries.

Adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side, with what tells them apart.

Humpnose Unicornfish
This oneHumpnose Unicornfish
Bluespine Unicornfish
Look-alikeBluespine Unicornfish

Both are grey unicornfish with something on the head. Bluespine Unicornfish has a tapering horn that points forward at eye level and never reaches past the mouth, and bright blue plates at the tail base. Humpnose Unicornfish has a bulbous, rounded snout instead -- in big males it overhangs the mouth -- a clearly humped back densely spotted in black below the front of the dorsal fin, and a blackish dorsal fin edged in pale blue.

See the Bluespine Unicornfish →

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