Brown Tang, Zebrasoma scopas (Cuvier 1829)
Other Names: Blue-lined Tang, Brushtail Tang, Sombre Surgeon-fish, Two-tone Surgeon
A Brown Tang, Zebrasoma scopas, at Lord Howe Island, February 2014. Source: John Turnbull / Flickr. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Summary:
A brown tang often with a yellowish-brown head and anterior body, narrow pale blue bars, dotted lines or a reticulated pattern on the head and body, and a white spine on the caudal peduncle preceded by a blackish patch of brush-like bristles.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2019, Zebrasoma scopas in Fishes of Australia, accessed 17 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2204
Brown Tang, Zebrasoma scopas (Cuvier 1829)
More Info
|
Distribution |
Houtman Abrolhos Islands to Rowley Shoals and Scott Reef, Western Australia, and Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, and the northern Great Barrier Reef to Moreton Bay, Queensland and reefs in the Coral Sea; also Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe Island Province and Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical Indo-west-central Pacific. Inhabits coral-rich areas on coastal, lagoon, and outer reefs at depths to 60 m. |
|
Features |
Dorsal fin IV-V, 23-25; Anal fin III, 19-21; Pectoral fin 14-16. Body depth 1.4-1.8 in SL; snout prominent, protruding; caudal peduncle with retractable spine on each side with a patch of brush-like bristles immediately before spine. |
|
Feeding |
Herbivore - grazes on algal turf, especially on thallate and filamentous red and green algae. At Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean, adults defend permanent territories that contain microalgal turfs on which they feed (Robertson et al. 1979). |
|
Species Citation |
Acanthurus scopas Cuvier 1829, Le Règne Animal Vol. 2: 224. Type locality: Neira, Banda Island, Indonesia. |
|
Author |
Bray, D.J. 2019 |
|
Resources |
Atlas of Living Australia |
Brown Tang, Zebrasoma scopas (Cuvier 1829)
References
Abesamis, R., Choat, J.H., McIlwain, J., Clements, K.D., Myers, R., Rocha, L.A., Nanola, C., Russell, B. & Stockwell, B. 2012. Zebrasoma scopas. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T178005A1518420. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T178005A1518420.en. Downloaded on 19 March 2019.
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.
Allen, G.R. & Russell, B.C. 1986. Part VII Fishes. pp. 79-103 in Berry, P.F. (ed.) Faunal Surveys of the Rowley Shoals, Scott Reef and Seringapatam Reef, northwestern Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 25: 1-106
Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21
Allen, G.R. & Steene, R.C. 1988. Fishes of Christmas Island Indian Ocean. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 197 pp.
Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp.
Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.
Choat, J.H. & Axe, L.M. 1996. Growth and longevity in acanthurid fishes: an analysis of otolith increments. Marine Ecology Progress Series 134: 15-26. www.jstor.org/stable/24856114
Choat, J.H., Clements, K.D. & Robbins, W.D. 2002. The trophic status of herbivorous fishes on coral reefs. 1. Dietary analyses. Marine Biology 140: 613-623. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-001-0715-3
Cuvier, G.L. 1829. Le Règne Animal Distribué d'après son Organisation, pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée. Poissons. Paris : Fortin, Masson et Co. Vol. 2 Nouvelle édition, pp. 122-406.
Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2
Grant, E.M. 1975. Guide to Fishes. Brisbane : Queensland Government, Co-ordinator General’s Department 640 pp.
Hutchins, J.B. 1997. Checklist of fishes of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. pp. 239-253 in Wells, F. (ed.) The Marine Fauna and Flora of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum.
Hutchins, J.B. 2001. Biodiversity of shallow reef fish assemblages in Western Australia using a rapid censusing technique. Records of the Western Australian Museum 20: 247-270
Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3)
Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls.
Kuiter, R.H. & Debelius, H. 2001. Surgeonfishes, Rabbitfishes and Their Relatives. A comprehensive guide to Acanthuroidei. Chorleywood, U.K. : TMC Publishing 208 pp.
Marshall, T.C. 1964. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coastal Waters of Queensland. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 566 pp. 136 pls.
Oxley, W.G., Ayling, A.M., Cheal, A.J. & Osborne, K. 2004. Marine surveys undertaken in the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Nature Reserve, December 2003. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Sciences 64 pp.
Oxley, W.G., Ayling, A.M., Cheal, A.J. & Thompson, A.A. 2003. Marine surveys undertaken in the Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve, March-April 2003. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Science 59 pp.
Oxley, W.G., Emslie, M., Muir, P. & Thompson, A.A. 2004. Marine surveys undertaken in the Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve, March 2004. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Science i-vii, 1-67 pp.
Randall, J.E. 1955. A revision of the surgeon fish genera Zebrasoma and Paracanthurus. Pacific Science 9(4): 396-412 figs 1-8 pl. 1
Randall, J.E. 2001. Surgeonfishes of Hawai'i and the World. Honolulu : Mutual Publishing and Bishop Museum Press 125 pp.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.
Robertson, R., Polunin, N.V.C. & Leighton, K. 1979. The behavioral ecology of three Indian Ocean surgeonfishes (Acanthurus lineatus, A. leucosternon and Zebrasoma scopas): their feeding strategies, and social and mating systems. Environmental Biology of Fishes 4(2): 125-170. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005448
Russell, B.C., Larson, H.K., Hutchins, J.B. & Allen, G.R. 2005. Reef fishes of the Sahul Shelf. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory Supplement 1 2005: 83-105
