Acanthuridae

Acanthuridae is a family of marine ray-finned fishes that includes surgeonfishes, tangs, and unicornfishes. Most species have sharp, blade-like spines on each side of the tail base.

Acanthurus: A genus of surgeonfishes in the family Acanthuridae, including the ocean surgeonfish. This large genus shows how the family’s common name and tail-spine feature appear in a major lineage.
Scalpel (fish spine): A sharp, blade-like spine on the side of a surgeonfish’s caudal peduncle. These spines give surgeonfishes their name and serve as defensive weapons.
Coral reef: A marine ecosystem built largely by corals and associated organisms in warm, shallow seas. Reefs provide habitat and feeding grounds for many members of the family.
Blue tang: Acanthurus coeruleus, a blue surgeonfish native to the western Atlantic. This familiar species exemplifies the surgeonfish body plan and tail spines.
Fish taxonomy: The classification and naming of fish species and their evolutionary relationships. Molecular evidence continues to refine relationships within Acanthuridae and among related families.
Naso: A genus of unicornfishes in the family Acanthuridae, often bearing a projecting snout or forehead horn. Its distinctive body forms one of the family’s three familiar groups.
Herbivory: A feeding strategy in which animals consume plant material or algae. Many acanthurids graze algae, affecting both their nutrition and reef communities.
Algal turf: A short, dense assemblage of algae and microbes growing on underwater surfaces. Acanthurid grazing can shape the abundance and composition of this reef food resource.
Palette surgeonfish: Paracanthurus hepatus, a blue-and-black Indo-Pacific surgeonfish also called the regal tang. Its vivid pattern made an Indo-Pacific acanthurid widely recognizable beyond reef biology.
Phylogenetics: The study of evolutionary relationships among organisms using inherited characteristics and genetic data. Phylogenetic analyses test how the family’s genera and species are related.

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