Backsurgeonfish
Acanthurus nigricans
- Usual depth5–22 m
- Water temperature25–30 °C
- Best monthsMarch and April
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) Roger Rittmaster, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Roger Rittmaster · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Acanthurus nigricans, the goldrim surgeonfish, velvet surgeon, whitecheek surgeonfish, yellow-banded surgeonfish or yellowrimmed surgeonfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. This species is found from the central Indo-Pacific area to the eastern Pacific coast, Hawaii included.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Acanthurus nigricans”, 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: 412 records
- February: 2,882 records
- March: 3,863 records
- April: 5,542 records
- May: 2,716 records
- June: 1,585 records
- July: 1,288 records
- August: 812 records
- September: 985 records
- October: 410 records
- November: 233 records
- December: 136 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 5–22 m · Deepest record: 50 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–30 °C
Photos
(c) keesgroenendijk, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) River Ahlquist, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Robert Webster, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Piotr Lukasik, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Backsurgeonfish, Goldrim surgeonfish, backsurgeonfish, Blackear Surgeonfish, Black Surgeonfish, Golden Rim Surgeonfish, goldrim surgeonfish, Goldrim Surgeonfish, Gold-rim Tang, Gray Surgeonfish, Velvet Surgeon, Velvet Surgeonfish, White-cheeked surgeonfish, Whitecheek surgeonfish, Whiteface Surgeonfish, Whitetail Surgeonfish, Yellow-banded Surgeonfish, Yellowfin tang, Yellowrimmed Surgeonfish, Yellow Spotted Surgeonfish
Names in 6 more languages
- German
- Goldrand-Doktorfisch
- Spanish
- cirujano cariblanco, Cirujano de Cara Blanca, Cirujano Filo Amarillo, Navajón Cariblanco, Pez Cirujano, Pez Cirujano de Filo Amarillo
- Filipino
- Dabahita, Labahita, Papakol, Samarel
- French
- Chirurgien à joue blanche, Chirurgien à joue blanche, Chirurgien à marques jaunes, Chirurgien à joues blanches, Chirurgien à marques jaunes, Chirurgien Noirâtre
- Japanese
- Megane-kurohagi, Meganekurohagi, メガネクロハギ
- Simplified Chinese
- 白面刺尾鯛
Other scientific names: Acanthurus aliala, Acanthurus glaucoparecius, Acanthurus glaucopareius, Chaetodon nigricans, Hepatus aliala
Similar species
Ringtail surgeonfishAcanthurus blochii
Eyestripe surgeonfishAcanthurus dussumieri
Lined surgeonfishAcanthurus lineatus
Brown surgeonfishAcanthurus nigrofuscus
Bluelined surgeonfishAcanthurus nigroris
Gendarme FishAcanthurus 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).
- 21,215 open-data records from 1758 to 2024.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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