Sealife guideThe orangeband surgeonfishAcanthurus olivaceus

Last updated on 09/05/2024 at 09:40 PM
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.
Geographic 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
Black-spot surgeonfish (Acanthurus bariene)
Black-spot surgeonfish
(Acanthurus bariene)
Blue tang surgeonfish (Acanthurus coeruleus)
Blue tang surgeonfish
(Acanthurus coeruleus)
Japanese surgeonfish (Acanthurus japonicus)
Japanese surgeonfish
(Acanthurus japonicus)
Ocean tang (Acanthurus bahianus)
Ocean tang
(Acanthurus bahianus)
Powder blue tang (Acanthurus leucosternon)
Powder blue tang
(Acanthurus leucosternon)
Sohal surgeonfish (Acanthurus sohal)
Sohal surgeonfish
(Acanthurus sohal)
Striped surgeonfish (Acanthurus lineatus)
Striped surgeonfish
(Acanthurus lineatus)
Yellowfin surgeonfish (Acanthurus xanthopterus)
Yellowfin surgeonfish
(Acanthurus xanthopterus)
Within the same family
Bluetail unicornfish (Naso caeruleacauda)
Bluetail unicornfish
(Naso caeruleacauda)
Humpback unicornfish (Naso brachycentron)
Humpback unicornfish
(Naso brachycentron)
Indian sailfin surgeonfish (Zebrasoma desjardinii)
Indian sailfin surgeonfish
(Zebrasoma desjardinii)
Kole tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus)
Kole tang
(Ctenochaetus strigosus)
Orangespine unicornfish (Naso lituratus)
Orangespine unicornfish
(Naso lituratus)
Paletail unicornfish (Naso brevirostris)
Paletail unicornfish
(Naso brevirostris)
Palette surgeonfish (Paracanthurus hepatus)
Palette surgeonfish
(Paracanthurus hepatus)
Sailfin tang (Zebrasoma velifer)
Sailfin tang
(Zebrasoma velifer)
Discover also
Blackstripe cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus nigrofasciatus)
Blackstripe cardinalfish
(Ostorhinchus nigrofasciatus)
Darkfin hind (Cephalopholis urodeta)
Darkfin hind
(Cephalopholis urodeta)
Redfin emperor (Monotaxis heterodon)
Redfin emperor
(Monotaxis heterodon)
Small red scorpionfish (Scorpaena notata)
Small red scorpionfish
(Scorpaena notata)
Spiny leaf fish (Ablabys macracanthus)
Spiny leaf fish
(Ablabys macracanthus)
Target shrimp goby (Cryptocentrus strigilliceps)
Target shrimp goby
(Cryptocentrus strigilliceps)
White eyed moray (Gymnothorax thyrsoideus)
White eyed moray
(Gymnothorax thyrsoideus)
Yellowmouth barracuda (Sphyraena viridensis)
Yellowmouth barracuda
(Sphyraena viridensis)

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