Acanthurus nigricans  (Linnaeus, 1758)

Whitecheek surgeonfish
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Image of Acanthurus nigricans (Whitecheek surgeonfish)
Acanthurus nigricans
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Acanthuridae (Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes) > Acanthurinae
Etymology: Acanthurus: Greek, akantha = thorn + Greek, oura = tail (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 67 m (Ref. 1602), usually 2 - 67 m (Ref. 27115).   Tropical; 21°C - 29°C (Ref. 27115); 30°N - 24°S

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 21.3 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2334)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 28-31; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 26 - 28. A horizontally elongate white blotch directly below eye. No orange band in outer part of dorsal fin. Caudal peduncle black except for yellow edge of socket and sheath of peduncular spine. Base of pectoral fin black (ref 9808).Gill rakers on anterior row:17-19, on posterior row:18-20.

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Indian Ocean: known only from Cocos-Keeling Islands and Christmas Island. Pacific Ocean: Ryukyu Islands and Great Barrier Reef to the Hawaiian Islands and French Polynesia (excluding Rapa). This species has crossed the Eastern Pacific Barrier to the Revillagigedo Islands, Cocos Island, Galapagos Islands, and the coast of Mexico.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabit hard substrate areas of clear lagoon and seaward reefs from the lower surge zone to at least 67 m and feeds on filamentous algae. Monogamous (Ref. 52884, 48637). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Small juveniles shy among large corals (Ref. 48637). Territorial species. Common throughout Micronesia and hybridizes with the rare A. achilles. Size of metamorphosis from the postlarva stage to juvenile is 5.5 to 6 cm (Ref. 9267).

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

Myers, R.F., 1991. Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

  Least Concern (LC) 

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial
FAO(Publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

More information

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | Public aquariums | PubMed | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02531 (-0.09325 - 0.14386), b=2.93 (2.86 - 3.01), based on LWR estimates for species & genus-BS (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  2.0   ±0.00 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.28; Tmax=34).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (34 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.