Atlantic Blue Tang
Acanthurus coeruleus
Razor Surgeonfish
Prionurus laticlavius
About
The razor surgeonfish is a schooling grazer of eastern Pacific reefs, named for the row of small blade-like plates it carries near its tail.
Also known as: yellowtail surgeonfish
- Length
- 25 cm · max 60 cm
- Depth
- 3–25 m
How to tell it apart
Many tangs and surgeonfish share this oval shape and tail-base weaponry, but the razor surgeonfish shows a row of three bony plates along the tail base rather than a single spine.
Appearance
It has an oval, flattened body with a steep-sloped head and eyes set high up. It is mostly grey, with a yellow tail fin and a dark bar running through the eye and another near the back of the head. Juveniles are mostly yellow with a dark stripe. Three small bony plates sit in a row along each side of the tail base.
Habitat
It lives on shallow rocky reefs, often in large schools, along the Pacific coast from Costa Rica to Colombia and around offshore islands such as Cocos, Malpelo, and the Galapagos. It grazes on algae growing over rock and coral.
Did you know?
Its scientific name means 'wide bar,' a nod to the broad dark stripe running down the otherwise yellow body of the juveniles.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
