Naso elegans  (Rüppell, 1829)

Elegant unicornfish
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Naso elegans
Picture by Rusconi, G.

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) > Nasinae
Etymology: Naso: Latin, nasus = nose (Ref. 45335);  elegans: From the Latin for choice, fine, or nice (Ref. 37792).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 5 - ? m (Ref. 48637).   Tropical; 31°N - 31°S, 30°E - 111°E

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 45.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 37792); common length : 35.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30573)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 6; Dorsal soft rays (total): 26-30; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 27 - 30. Dorsal fin yellow with a blue line at base and a black band above this; anal and pelvic fins dark brown; dorsal and anal fins with a narrow blue margin and black submarginal line; caudal fin yellowish with black upper and lower margins and a submarginal black band posteriorly (Ref. 37792). Caudal fin emarginate with adult males having trailing filaments from each corner (Ref. 37792).

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

Indian Ocean: Red Sea south to Durban, South Africa and east through the islands of the western Indian Ocean to southwestern Indonesia, at least to Bali. Not reported from the Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, or India. Previously considered the Indian Ocean color variant of Naso lituratus.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits coastal and sheltered reef flats in small groups and schools in oceanic locations (Ref. 48637). Feeds on benthic algae (Ref. 37792).

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

Randall, J.E., 2002. Surgeonfishes of the world. Mutual Publishing and Bishop Museum Press, Hawai'i. 123 p.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

  Least Concern (LC) 

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO(Publication : search) | FisheriesWiki |

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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=0.02236 (-0.14208 - 0.18681), b=2.97 (2.88 - 3.06), based on LWR estimates for this family-BS (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  2.0   ±0.00 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (47 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.