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Acanthurus pyroferus Kittlitz, 1834

Chocolate surgeonfish
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Acanthurus pyroferus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Acanthurus pyroferus (Chocolate surgeonfish)
Acanthurus pyroferus
Picture by Randall, J.E.

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).

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

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 60 m (Ref. 1602), usually 5 - 40 m (Ref. 27115). Tropical; 32°N - 24°S, 55°E - 138°W

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

Indo-Pacific: Seychelles to the Marquesas and Tuamoto islands, north to southern Japan, south to the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia. Replaced by Acanthurus trisits from the Maldives and Chagos Islands to Bali (Ref. 37816).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 29.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 90102)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 27 - 30; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 24 - 28. Purplish black in color; an orange diffused patch at edge of gill opening, just above pectoral fin base; a broad black band from upper end of gill opening to margin of gill cover down to isthmus; caudal spine socket with a narrow black margin. Blackish lips; a trace of orange behind eye; a white line under chin extending slightly above rictus. Gill rakers on anterior row 23-26; on posterior row 25-27. Juveniles can exhibit 3 different color patterns mimicking Centropyge species. Caudal fin rounded in juveniles.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs in lagoon and seaward reefs; prefers areas of mixed coral, rock, or sand at the base of reefs or ledges, Ref. 48637. Also on silty reefs (Ref. 9710). Found singly (Ref. 9710). Juveniles mimic Centropyge spp. (in Guam, juveniles mimic C. flavissimus but in Palau where this species is absent, they mimic C. vrolikii), Ref. 48637. Presence of a venom gland could not be determined despite the presence of distinct anterolateral grooves; this may be due to the loss of venom glands in adults (Ref. 57406). Feeds on algae (Ref. 89972). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

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

Randall, J.E., 1956. A revision of the surgeonfish genus Acanthurus. Pac. Sci. 10(2):159-235. (Ref. 1920)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  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 | Sea Around Us

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Trophic ecology
Food items
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Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
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Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Visual pigment(s)
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Internet sources

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

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 25 - 28.8, mean 27.6 °C (based on 558 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02344 (0.01103 - 0.04981), 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):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.422; Tmax=28).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (19 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 60.6 [25.4, 172.2] mg/100g; Iron = 0.749 [0.287, 1.819] mg/100g; Protein = 18.1 [16.8, 19.3] %; Omega3 = 0.107 [0.049, 0.224] g/100g; Selenium = 19.1 [6.7, 57.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 44.1 [10.1, 179.4] μg/100g; Zinc = 2.89 [0.91, 5.30] mg/100g (wet weight);