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)
Doctorfish (Acanthurus chirurgus)
Doctorfish
(Acanthurus chirurgus)
Mimic surgeonfish (Acanthurus pyroferus)
Mimic surgeonfish
(Acanthurus pyroferus)
Ocean tang (Acanthurus bahianus)
Ocean tang
(Acanthurus bahianus)
Palelipped surgeonfish (Acanthurus leucocheilus)
Palelipped surgeonfish
(Acanthurus leucocheilus)
Powder blue tang (Acanthurus leucosternon)
Powder blue tang
(Acanthurus leucosternon)
Sohal surgeonfish (Acanthurus sohal)
Sohal surgeonfish
(Acanthurus sohal)
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
Bar jack (Caranx ruber)
Bar jack
(Caranx ruber)
Blotched sandgoby (Fusigobius inframaculatus)
Blotched sandgoby
(Fusigobius inframaculatus)
Indian threadfish (Alectis indica)
Indian threadfish
(Alectis indica)
Old glory (Koumansetta rainfordi)
Old glory
(Koumansetta rainfordi)
Redmouth grouper (Aethaloperca rogaa)
Redmouth grouper
(Aethaloperca rogaa)
Semicircle angelfish (Pomacanthus semicirculatus)
Semicircle angelfish
(Pomacanthus semicirculatus)
Snowflake moray (Echidna nebulosa)
Snowflake moray
(Echidna nebulosa)
Turbot (Balistes capriscus)
Turbot
(Balistes capriscus)

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