Acanthurus nigros, Bluelined surgeonfish : fisheries, aquarium

Acanthurus nigros Günther, 1861

Bluelined surgeonfish
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Acanthuriformes (Surgeonfishes) > Acanthuridae (Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes) > Acanthurinae
Etymology: Acanthurus: Greek, akantha = thorn + Greek, oura = tail (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Günther.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 90 m (Ref. 1602). Tropical; 30°N - 26°S, 52°E - 137°W

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Central Pacific: southern Japan, Yap, Guam, Pagan, Vanuatu, and Great Barrier Reef; widely in the central Pacific Ocean (except for the Hawaiian Islands and Johnston Atoll).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2334)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 25; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 25; Vertebrae: 22. This species is characterized by the following: D IX,25; pectoral rays 16; gill rakers 25; teeth incisiform, denticulate, and close-set, with the distal end of upper teeth rounded with 12 upper and 14 lower teeth; body depth 1.9 in SL. Colouration: body light to dark brown with irregular, longitudinal, dotted stripes narrower than brown interspaces; suborbital and opercular region with stripes paralleling snout outline; rear base of dorsal and anal fins with a pupil-sized black blotch; dorsal and anal fins with bands paralleling outer edge (Ref. 138601).
Body shape (shape guide): short and / or deep; Cross section: compressed.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits clear lagoon and seaward reefs; often in areas with mixed coral, pavement, rubble and sand substrates (Ref. 1602). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Occurs singly or in small groups (Ref. 9710). Feeds on filamentous algae, diatoms and fine algal film of compacted sand (Ref. 1602). Relatively uncommon throughout Micronesia; rare on Great Barrier Reef.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Randall, John E. | Collaborators

Randall, J.E., J.D. DiBattista and C. Wilcox, 2011. Acanthurus nigros Günther, a valid species of surgeonfish, distinct from the Hawaiian A. nigroris Valenciennes. Pacific Science 65(2):265-275. (Ref. 138600)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 04 May 2010

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Territories
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Genetic Diversity
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
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Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
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References
References

Tools

Bio-Quiz | E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index
(Ref. 82804) 		PD50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight a=0.02291 (0.01093 - 0.04802), b=2.96 (2.79 - 3.13), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level
(Ref. 69278) 		2.0   ±0.00 se; based on food items.
Resilience
(Ref. 120179) 		High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability
(Ref. 59153) 		Low vulnerability (25 of 100). 🛈
Price category
(Ref. 80766) 		Medium.
Nutrients
(Ref. 124155) 		Calcium = 67.7 [27.5, 195.0] mg/100g; Iron = 0.8 [0.3, 2.0] mg/100g; Protein = 18.1 [16.8, 19.3] %; Omega3 = 0.116 [0.054, 0.241] g/100g; Selenium = 20.6 [7.2, 63.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 43.3 [9.9, 178.5] μg/100g; Zinc = 2.95 [0.94, 5.46] mg/100g (wet weight);