Blue-spotted Bristletooth

About this species

Ctenochaetus marginatus, the blue-spotted bristletooth, blue-spotted surgeonfish or striped-fin surgeonfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the biology Acanthuridae which includes the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. The blue-spotted bristletooth is found in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Ctenochaetus marginatus”, 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: 269 records
February: 701 records
March: 670 records
April: 1,247 records
May: 518 records
June: 281 records
July: 187 records
August: 166 records
September: 20 records
October: 32 records
November: 15 records
December: 13 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 5–22 m · Deepest record: 520 m

0–10 m: 1,294 records
10–20 m: 1,793 records
20–30 m: 811 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 5 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 24–29 °C

22–24 °C: 1 records
24–26 °C: 1 records
26–28 °C: 485 records
28–30 °C: 447 records

Photos

(c) Alberto Alcalá, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) keesgroenendijk, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Alberto Alcalá, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) keesgroenendijk, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) CaracalShan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Blue-spotted Bristletooth, Bluespotted Surgeonfish, Marginated Surgeonfish, Striped-fin surgeonfish, Striped-fin Surgeonfish

Names in 3 more languages

German: Blautupfen-Borstenzahn-Doktorfisch
Spanish: cirujano estriado, Navajón Estriado, Pez Cirujano de Aleta Rayada
French: Chirurgien à points bleus, Chirurgien strié

Other scientific names: Acanthurus marginatus, Ctenochaetus cyanoguttatus, Ctenochaetus magnus

Similar species

Bluelip Bristletooth
Ctenochaetus cyanocheilus
Lined bristletooth
Ctenochaetus striatus
Spotted surgeonfish
Ctenochaetus strigosus
Twospot surgeonfish
Ctenochaetus binotatus
Pale-tailed Bristletooth
Ctenochaetus flavicauda
Black Surgeonfish
Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis

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).
4,018 open-data records from 1951 to 2024.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.