Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes
(Perch-likes) > Acanthuridae
(Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes) > Acanthurinae
Etymology: Zebrasoma: Derived from Zebra = African horse + Greek, soma = body; referring to the stripes (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 10 - 61 m (Ref. 9710), usually 25 - ? m (Ref. 3145). Subtropical; 24°C - 28°C (Ref. 27115)
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 22.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3145)
Western Indian Ocean: Mozambique and South Africa; also Madagascar, Reunion (Ref. 54356), and Mauritius.
Inhabits coral and rocky reefs (Ref. 9710). Juveniles in shallow water (Ref. 9710). Extremely territorial and solitary (Ref. 5503).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Randall, J.E., 1986. Acanthuridae. p. 811-823. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. (Ref. 3145)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 96402)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningFecundityEggsEgg development
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5078 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02570 (0.01254 - 0.05268), b=2.97 (2.80 - 3.14), based on LWR estimates for this Subfamily-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 2.0 ±0.00 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Low vulnerability (22 of 100) .