Yellowfin surgeonfish

Acanthurus xanthopterus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth3–20 m
Water temperature21–30 °C
Best monthsApril, July, and August
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Ewout Knoester · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

Acanthurus xanthopterus, the yellowfin surgeonfish, yellowmask surgeonfish, ringtail surgeonfish or Cuvier's surgeonfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae which includes the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. This species has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Acanthurus xanthopterus”, 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: 353 records
February: 574 records
March: 523 records
April: 702 records
May: 512 records
June: 421 records
July: 715 records
August: 750 records
September: 341 records
October: 502 records
November: 699 records
December: 358 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–20 m · Deepest record: 92.5 m

0–10 m: 1,522 records
10–20 m: 926 records
20–30 m: 256 records
30–40 m: 25 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 2 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 21–30 °C

20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 9 records
24–26 °C: 34 records
26–28 °C: 235 records
28–30 °C: 203 records

Photos

(c) Roger Rittmaster, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Attila Oláh, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bill Levine, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Nick Tobler (Cowturtle), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Yellowfin surgeonfish, Cuvier's Surgeonfish, Purple Surgeonfish, Ringtailed surgeonfish, Ring-tailed Surgeonfish, yellowfin surgeonfish, Yellowfin Surgeonfish, Yellow-masked Surgeon, Yellow-mask Surgeon, Yellowmask Surgeonfish

Names in 7 more languages

German: Gelbflossen-Doktorfisch
Spanish: Chancho Aleta Amarilla, cirujano aleta amarilla, Cirujano de Aleta Amarilla, Navajón Aleta Amarilla, Pez Cirujano, Pez Cirujano Púrpura
Filipino: Indangan, Labahita, Mangadlit
French: Chirurgien à ailes jaunes, Chirurgien aile jaune, Chirurgien à nageoires jaunes, Chirurgien à nageoires jaunes, Poisson docteur à nageoires jaunes, Chirurgien à pectorale jaune, Poisson Docteur à Nageoires Jaunes
Japanese: Kurohagi, クロハギ
Thai: ปลาขี้ตังเบ็ดปีกเหลือง
Simplified Chinese: 黃鰭刺尾魚, 黃鰭刺尾鯛

Other scientific names: Acanthurus crestonis, Acanthurus rasi, Acanthurus reticulatus, Hepatus aquilinus, Hepatus crestonis, Hepatus guntheri, Hepatus xanthopterus, Teuthis crestonis, Teuthis guentheri, Teuthis güntheri, Teuthis xanthopterus

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).
4,945 open-data records from 1835 to 2024.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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