TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Order: Perciformes (Perch-likes)
Family: Acanthuridae (Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes)
Genus/species: Naso brevirostris
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS: The Spotted Unicornfish is olive-brown to blue-grey with dark spots on head and vertical rows of spots and lines on sides. The tail is whitish with a dark area at base. A long, tapering horn on forehead of adults is lacking in juveniles.
Max length: 60 cm (23.5 in)
DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Naso brevirostris is found in the Indo-Pacific: East Africa, the Hawaiian Islands, southern Japan and Australia It prefers mid-waters along steep outer lagoon and seaward reef drop-offs, from 4–45 m (12-150 ft).
DIET IN THE WILD: Juveniles: benthic algae; adults: mainly zooplankton.
REPRODUCTION: Pelagic spawners
CONSERVATION: IUCN Red List Least Concern (LC)
REMARKS: Unicornfishes (Naso spp.) are characterized by 2 sharp, fixed (not moveable as in surgeonfishes), keel-like plates on the caudal peduncle. The skin is leathery with tiny non-overlapping scales, and teeth have finely serrate edges. Males of many Naso species are able to display spectacular iridescent markings during courtship.
References
California Academy of Sciences Steinhart Aquarium Philippine Coral Reef 2016
Ron’s flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/cas_docents/sets/72157608332652056/with/4332770529/
fishbase fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=6021&genus…
Encyclopedia of Life eol.org/pages/213852/details
IUCN www.iucnredlist.org/details/177990/0
Ron’s WordPress Shortlink: http://wp.me/p1DZ4b-Ho
