Sealife guideThe orangeband surgeonfishAcanthurus olivaceus

Taxonomy
  • Common name: Orangeband surgeonfish
  • French name: Poisson chirurgien olive à bande orange, chirurgien à épaulettes, chirurgien gendarme (Polynésie)
  • Scientific name: Acanthurus olivaceus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
  • Family name: Acanthuridae
  • Order name: Acanthuriformes
  • Class name: Actinopterygii
Description
The orangeband surgeonfish, as its name suggests, has a dominant greenish-brown color with a distinctive large, horizontally elongated oval orange patch that starts behind its eye and ends in a blue-violet comet-shaped tail in the middle of its body.
The orangeband surgeonfish (Acanthurus olivaceus)
The orangeband surgeonfish (Acanthurus olivaceus) © Rickard Zerpe sous licence Creative Commons
A thin light-colored border outlines its long dorsal and anal fins.
The orangeband surgeonfish is a modest-sized fish, reaching about 8 inches in length when fully grown.
Range
The orangeband surgeonfish is found in the tropical waters of the central Pacific ocean and also in the Indian ocean around the coral reefs of Mauritius.
Diet
Like most surgeonfish, the orangeband surgeonfish is primarily herbivorous. It feeds on algae and detritus scraped from the surfaces of coral reefs and rocky bottoms using its beak-shaped mouth.
Did you know ?
As an herbivore, the orangeband surgeonfish helps maintain healthy coral reefs by controlling algae growth.
The orangeband surgeonfish is listed as many other marine species within The IUCN Red List of threatened species. The orangeband surgeonfish appears in the IUCN Red List since 2012 within the category Least Concern !
Within the same genus
Japanese surgeonfish (Acanthurus japonicus)
Japanese surgeonfish
(Acanthurus japonicus)
Palelipped surgeonfish (Acanthurus leucocheilus)
Palelipped surgeonfish
(Acanthurus leucocheilus)
Yellowfin surgeonfish (Acanthurus xanthopterus)
Yellowfin surgeonfish
(Acanthurus xanthopterus)
Powder blue tang (Acanthurus leucosternon)
Powder blue tang
(Acanthurus leucosternon)
Ocean tang (Acanthurus bahianus)
Ocean tang
(Acanthurus bahianus)
Mimic surgeonfish (Acanthurus pyroferus)
Mimic surgeonfish
(Acanthurus pyroferus)
Striped surgeonfish (Acanthurus lineatus)
Striped surgeonfish
(Acanthurus lineatus)
Sohal surgeonfish (Acanthurus sohal)
Sohal surgeonfish
(Acanthurus sohal)
Within the same family
Humpback unicornfish (Naso brachycentron)
Humpback unicornfish
(Naso brachycentron)
Orangespine unicornfish (Naso lituratus)
Orangespine unicornfish
(Naso lituratus)
Bluetail unicornfish (Naso caeruleacauda)
Bluetail unicornfish
(Naso caeruleacauda)
Paletail unicornfish (Naso brevirostris)
Paletail unicornfish
(Naso brevirostris)
Kole tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus)
Kole tang
(Ctenochaetus strigosus)
Sailfin tang (Zebrasoma velifer)
Sailfin tang
(Zebrasoma velifer)
Indian sailfin surgeonfish (Zebrasoma desjardinii)
Indian sailfin surgeonfish
(Zebrasoma desjardinii)
Palette surgeonfish (Paracanthurus hepatus)
Palette surgeonfish
(Paracanthurus hepatus)
Explore also
Blackfin barracuda (Sphyraena qenie)
Blackfin barracuda
(Sphyraena qenie)
Blue runner (Caranx crysos)
Blue runner
(Caranx crysos)
Philippines wrasse (Pseudocoris bleekeri)
Philippines wrasse
(Pseudocoris bleekeri)
Cigar wrasse (Cheilio inermis)
Cigar wrasse
(Cheilio inermis)
Checkerboard wrasse (Halichoeres hortulanus)
Checkerboard wrasse
(Halichoeres hortulanus)
Spotted scorpionfish (Scorpaena plumieri)
Spotted scorpionfish
(Scorpaena plumieri)
Violet squirrelfish (Sargocentron violaceum)
Violet squirrelfish
(Sargocentron violaceum)
Leaf scorpionfish (Taenianotus triacanthus)
Leaf scorpionfish
(Taenianotus triacanthus)

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