Naso (fish)

Naso
Temporal range: Eocene to present[1]
Short-nosed unicornfish, N. brevirostris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Acanthuridae
Subfamily: Nasinae
Fowler & Bean, 1929
Genus: Naso
Lacépède, 1801
Type species
Acanthurus fronticornis
Lacepède, 1801
Species

See text

Synonyms[2]

Naso is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family, Acanthuridae, the unicornfishes, surgeonfishes and tangs. The fishes in this genus are known commonly as unicornfishes because of the "rostral protuberance", a hornlike extension of the forehead present in some species.[3] Unicorn fish are popular with spearfishermen[4] and may be cooked by grilling them whole.[5] Unicornfish primarily live around coral reefs and eat mostly algae.[6] It is very popular in Maldives.

This genus is distributed across the Indo-Pacific from Africa to Hawaii.[7]

  1. ^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  2. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Acanthuridae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  3. ^ Dayton, C. (2001). "Genetic evolution among selected members of the genus Naso (Nasinae), "unicornfishes" from Guam". Marine Biology. 139 (4): 771–76. Bibcode:2001MarBi.139..771D. doi:10.1007/s002270100628.
  4. ^ Fishing at the tip of the spear in Guam
  5. ^ "Unicorn Fish the weird but delicious fish". The Arena Media Brands, LLC. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Acanthuridae (Surgeonfishes/Tangs)". Reef App encyclopaedia for marine animals. Kasper Hareskov Tygesen. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  7. ^ Borden, W. C. (1998). "Phylogeny of the unicornfishes (Naso, Acanthuridae) based on soft anatomy". Copeia. 1998 (1): 104–113. doi:10.2307/1447705. JSTOR 1447705.