Lined surgeonfish
Acanthurus lineatus
- Usual depth3–12 m
- Water temperature21–30 °C
- Best monthsApril and October
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) Zsispeo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
Acanthurus lineatus, the lined surgeonfish, blue banded surgeonfish, blue-lined surgeonfish, clown surgeonfish, pyjama tang, striped surgeonfish, and zebra surgeonfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. This species is found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Acanthurus lineatus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 379 records
- February: 854 records
- March: 1,194 records
- April: 2,029 records
- May: 801 records
- June: 657 records
- July: 934 records
- August: 619 records
- September: 526 records
- October: 1,224 records
- November: 398 records
- December: 275 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 3–12 m · Deepest record: 2,231 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 21–30 °C
Photos
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Petr Knotek, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Natalie Lemanski, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) TonyT, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Lined surgeonfish, Bluebanded surgeon, Blue-banded surgeonfish, Blue Banded Surgeonfish, Blue-lined Surgeonfish, Bluelined Surgeonfish, Blue linned surgeonfish, Clown surgeon, Clown Surgeonfish, Clown Tang, Lined Surgeon, lined surgeonfish, Striped Surgeon, Striped Surgeonfish, Striped Surgeonfish, Lined surgeonfish, Spoted box crab, Striped Tang, Zebra Surgeonfish
Names in 7 more languages
- German
- Blaustreifen-Doktorfisch
- Spanish
- Cajeta Moteada, Navajón Cebra, Pez Cirujano Payaso
- Filipino
- Dabahita, Papakol, Saging-saging, Samarel
- French
- Chirurgien à bandes bleues, Chirurgien à Lignes Bleues, Chirurgien-clown, Chirurgien zebra, Chirurgien zébré, Chirurgien zèbre, Chirurgien zèbre, Migraine tachetée, Migraine Tachetée
- Japanese
- Nijihagi, ニジハギ
- Thai
- ปลาขี้ตังเบ็ดลาย
- Simplified Chinese
- 線紋刺尾鯛
Other scientific names: Acanthurus vittatus, Chaetodon lineatus, Ctenodon lineatus, Harpurus lineatus, Hepatus lineatus, Rhombotides lineatus, Teuthis lineatus
Similar species
Eyestripe surgeonfishAcanthurus dussumieri
BacksurgeonfishAcanthurus nigricans
Brown surgeonfishAcanthurus nigrofuscus
Bluelined surgeonfishAcanthurus nigroris
Gendarme FishAcanthurus olivaceus
Convict surgeonfishAcanthurus triostegus
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).
- 8,566 open-data records from 1758 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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