Acanthurus

Acanthurus
Temporal range: 55–0 Ma
Early Eocene to Present[1]
Acanthurus chirurgus
Acanthurus coeruleus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Acanthuridae
Tribe: Acanthurini
Genus: Acanthurus
Forsskål, 1775
Type species
Teuthis hepatus or Chaetodon sohal
Linnaeus, 1758[2] or Forsskål, 1775[3]
Species

See text

Synonyms[2]

Acanthurus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, which includes the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs, found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. They are found in tropical oceans, especially near coral reefs, with most species in the Indo-Pacific but a few are found in the Atlantic Ocean. As other members of the family, they have a pair of spines, one on either side of the base of the tail which are dangerously sharp.

  1. ^ Sepkoski, J.J.Jr (2002): A Compendium of Fossil Marine Animal Genera. Archived 23 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Bulletins of American Paleontology, 363: 1–560.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference CofF was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Demirjian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).