Ringtail surgeonfish

Acanthurus blochii

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth4–19 m
Water temperature24–30 °C
Best monthsJuly, August, and September
How commonCommon

About this species

Acanthurus blochii, the ringtail surgeonfish or dark surgeonfish, is a marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. This fish is found in the Indo-Pacific.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Acanthurus blochii”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 89 records
February: 95 records
March: 264 records
April: 330 records
May: 219 records
June: 239 records
July: 441 records
August: 502 records
September: 561 records
October: 382 records
November: 79 records
December: 5 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–19 m · Deepest record: 103 m

0–10 m: 1,460 records
10–20 m: 1,333 records
20–30 m: 272 records
30–40 m: 7 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 3 records
90–100 m: 2 records
100–110 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 24–30 °C

22–24 °C: 17 records
24–26 °C: 263 records
26–28 °C: 89 records
28–30 °C: 150 records

Names and classification

English: Ringtail surgeonfish, Blue-banded Pualu, Dark Surgeon, Dark Surgeonfish, ringtail surgeonfish, tailring surgeon, Tailring Surgeonfish, Whitetail Lancet, whitetail surgeonfish

Names in 6 more languages

German: Blochs Doktorfisch
Spanish: Pez Cirujano Cola de Anillo
Filipino: Labahita, Surahan
French: Chirurgien à anneau blanc, Poisson-chirurgien à queue rayée
Japanese: Osujikurohagi, オスジクロハギ
Simplified Chinese: 布氏刺尾鯛

Similar species

Eyestripe surgeonfish
Acanthurus dussumieri
Lined surgeonfish
Acanthurus lineatus
Backsurgeonfish
Acanthurus nigricans
Brown surgeonfish
Acanthurus nigrofuscus
Bluelined surgeonfish
Acanthurus nigroris
Gendarme Fish
Acanthurus olivaceus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
4,402 open-data records from 1835 to 2023.

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