Gendarme Fish
Acanthurus olivaceus
- Usual depth6–23 m
- Water temperature24–30 °C
- Best monthsJuly, August, and September
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) Rickard Zerpe, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Acanthurus olivaceus, the orange-band surgeonfish, orange-shoulder surgeonfish or orangebar tang, is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. It lives in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Acanthurus olivaceus”, 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: 383 records
- February: 525 records
- March: 732 records
- April: 1,415 records
- May: 882 records
- June: 955 records
- July: 1,515 records
- August: 1,906 records
- September: 2,303 records
- October: 1,340 records
- November: 504 records
- December: 203 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 6–23 m · Deepest record: 72 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 24–30 °C
Photos
(c) Robin White, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Robin White · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) desertnaturalist, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Bernard DUPONT, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Gendarme Fish, Olive Surgeonfish, Orange band Surgeonfish, Orangeband Surgeonfish, Orangeband Surgeonfish, Orangespot surgeonfish, Orangebar Surgeonfish, Orange-blotch Surgeon, Orange-blotch Surgeonfish, Orangeblotch Surgeonfish, Orange-ear Surgeonfish, Orange-epaulette Surgeonfish, Orange Epoulette Surgeon, Orangeshoulder Tang, Orange-spot Surgeon-fish, Orange-spot Surgeonfish, Orangespot Surgeon-fish, Orangespot Surgeonfish, orangespot tang, Orange Spot Tang
Names in 6 more languages
- German
- Orangefleck-Doktorfisch
- Spanish
- Pez Cirujano de Banda Naranja
- Filipino
- Dabahita, Labahita, Samarel, Surahan
- French
- Chirurgien à Epaulettes, Chirurgien à épaulettes orange, Chirurgien à épaulettes, Poisson gendarme, Chirurgien Olive, Chirurgien olive, Chirurgien à épaulettes, Poisson Gendarme
- Japanese
- Montsukihagi, モンツキハギ
- Simplified Chinese
- 一字刺尾鯛
Other scientific names: Acanthurus chrysosoma, Acanthurus eparai, Acanthurus eparei, Acanthurus erythromelas, Acanthurus humeralis, Acanthurus olicaceous, Ctenodon erythromelas, Harpurus paroticus, Hepatus chrysosoma, Hepatus olivaceus, Rhombotides olivaceus, Rhombotides xanthosoma, Teuthis olivaceus
Similar species
Eyestripe surgeonfishAcanthurus dussumieri
Lined surgeonfishAcanthurus lineatus
BacksurgeonfishAcanthurus nigricans
Brown surgeonfishAcanthurus nigrofuscus
Bluelined surgeonfishAcanthurus nigroris
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).
- 12,190 open-data records from 1801 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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