Sailfin Tang, Zebrasoma veliferum (Bloch 1795)

Other Names: Pacific Sailfin Tang, Purple Sailfinned Tang, Sailfin Surgeon, Sailfin Surgeonfish, Sail-finned Surgeon-fish, Sailfinned Tang

A Sailfin Tang, Zebrasoma veliferum, at Koror, Palau. Source: Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:

A brownish tang with broad greyish-brown bars alternating with narrower yellow bars, dark greyish to brown dorsal and anal fins with pale bands, and a greyish-brown to yellow caudal fin. Small juveniles have alternating yellow and black bars.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2019, Zebrasoma veliferum in Fishes of Australia, accessed 24 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2205

Sailfin Tang, Zebrasoma veliferum (Bloch 1795)

More Info

Distribution	Rottnest Island to the Montebello Islands, and offshore reefs of Western Australia, Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, and the northern Great Barrier Reef and reefs in the Coral Sea to Moreton Bay, Queensland, with juveniles to at least Sydney, New South Wales; also Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and Middleton Reef, Elizabeth Reef and Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the tropical, west-central Pacific. Individuals or occasionally pairs inhabit lagoon and outer reef areas from the lower surge zone to a depth of 45 m. Juveniles often shelter within branching corals.
Features	Dorsal fin IV, 29-33; Anal fin III, 23-26; Pectoral fin 15-17. Body depth 1.8-2.0 in SL; caudal peduncle with a retractable spine on each side; no brush-like patch of bristles posteriorly on side of body; dorsal fin very tall and sail-like, longest ray 2.1 to 2.5 times in SL.
Feeding	Herbivore - grazes on algal turf, and also consumes leafy macroalgae.
Remarks	This species has previously been referred to as Zebrasoma velifer.
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin velifer (= sail bearing) presumably in reference to the very tall dorsal fin.
Species Citation	Acanthurus velifer Bloch 1795, Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische Vol. 9: 106, pl. 427, fig. 1. Type locality: seas of East Indies.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2019
Resources	Australian Faunal Directory

Sailfin Tang, Zebrasoma veliferum (Bloch 1795)

References

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