Moorish idol

Zanclus cornutus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth4–23 m
Water temperature20–30 °C
Best monthsApril, September, and October
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) NOAA Photo Library, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The Moorish idol is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zanclidae. It is the only member of the monospecific genus Zanclus and the only extant species within the Zanclidae. This species is found on reefs in the Indo-Pacific region.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Moorish idol”, 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: 1,093 records
February: 1,171 records
March: 1,552 records
April: 2,020 records
May: 1,353 records
June: 1,601 records
July: 1,777 records
August: 1,874 records
September: 2,190 records
October: 2,074 records
November: 1,143 records
December: 995 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–23 m · Deepest record: 150 m

0–10 m: 2,774 records
10–20 m: 2,808 records
20–30 m: 1,039 records
30–40 m: 27 records
40–50 m: 19 records
50–60 m: 20 records
60–70 m: 8 records
70–80 m: 14 records
80–90 m: 9 records
90–100 m: 18 records
100–110 m: 3 records
110+ m: 5 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–30 °C

20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 17 records
24–26 °C: 118 records
26–28 °C: 87 records
28–30 °C: 161 records

Photos

(c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Alberto Alcalá, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Alberto Alcalá, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Rusty, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bill Levine, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Иван Ковтун Ivan Kovtun, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Moorish idol, Moorish Idol

Names in 7 more languages

German: Halfterfisch
Spanish: ídolo moro
French: Cocher blanc, Idole maure, Porte-enseigne, Zancle
Japanese: Tsunodashi, ツノダシ
Korean: 깃대돔
Thai: ปลาโนรีเทวรูป, ปลาผีเสื้อเทวรูป
Simplified Chinese: 角蝶, 角蝶魚, 镰鱼

Other scientific names: Chaetodon canescens, Chaetodon cornutus, Zanclus canescens, Zanclus cornatus, Zanclus cornotus

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).
12,547 open-data records from 1748 to 2024.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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