TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cordata
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes
Order: Perciformes (Perch-likes)
Family: Zanclidae (Moorish idol)

Genus/species: Zanclus cornutus

DISTRIBUTION:  Indo-pan-Pacific. Southern Gulf of California south to Peru including the Galápagos Islands.

HABITAT: Hard substrates from turbid inner harbors and reef flats to clear seaward reefs as deep as 182 m. Usually in small groups of conspecifics, occasionally in schools of more than 100.

APPEARANCE: Length to 23 cm. Discoid body, tubular snout, dorsal spines elongated into a very long white whip-like filament. Z. cornutus has a broad vertical white, black, white-yellow black, yellow banding. Tail black with white margin

DIET: Primarily sponges. Also consumes tunicates and algae.

REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT:  It has a long larval phase and settles at a large size (6 cm), resulting in its very wide geographic distribution.

REMARKS: Z. cornutus was the icon of the Golden Gate Park Steinhart Aquarium. Gill, the leader of the tank fish in Finding Nemo, with the voice of Willem Dafoe, is a Moorish Idol.

Photos taken at the California Academy of sciences.

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