Brown surgeonfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Brown surgeonfish |
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The brown surgeonfish (also known as Acanthurus nigrofuscus) is a cool type of fish that lives in the ocean. It's also called the blackspot surgeonfish or brown tang. This fish is part of a group called Acanthuridae, which includes other surgeonfishes, unicornfishes, and tangs. You can find these fish in many places across the Indo-Pacific region. They are very common and there are lots of them!
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Understanding the Brown Surgeonfish's Name
The scientific name for this fish is Acanthurus nigrofuscus. It was first described in 1775 by a Swedish-Finnish explorer and naturalist named Peter Forsskål. He named it Chaetodon nigrofuscus back then.
What Does Nigrofuscus Mean?
The name nigrofuscus comes from two Latin words. Nigro means "black" and fuscus means "dark." This name describes the fish's color, which is often a dusky or brownish-black.
What Does the Brown Surgeonfish Look Like?
The brown surgeonfish has a unique appearance. Its body color can be brown, purplish, or even bluish-brown.
Fin Details
It has a dorsal fin (on its back) with 9 strong spines and 24 to 27 soft rays. Its anal fin (on its belly) has 3 spines and 22 to 24 soft rays. The top of its head is slightly humped, which means it has a small bump.
Special Markings
You might see small orange spots on its head and chest. There are also tiny black spots at the bottom of its dorsal and anal fins. These fins often have a light blue edge. A cool feature is the spine on its tail base (called the caudal peduncle), which is covered by a black patch. Some brown surgeonfish also have wavy lines made of small blue dots on their bodies. This fish can grow up to about 21 centimeters (about 8 inches) long.
Where Do Brown Surgeonfish Live?
The brown surgeonfish lives in a very wide area, from the coast of eastern Africa all the way to the Pitcairn Islands and Hawaii. You can find them as far north as southern Japan and as far south as New South Wales, Australia.
Their Ocean Home
These fish are very common. They often swim in small groups, called schools. They like to live on sheltered coral reefs and rocky reefs. You can often spot them around isolated rocky areas in the ocean. They usually live in waters up to about 25 meters (about 82 feet) deep.
How Brown Surgeonfish Live and Eat
Brown surgeonfish are grazers. This means they eat algae that grows on the ocean floor.
Schooling Behavior
While they are usually seen in small groups, they can form very large schools in open ocean areas. They also gather in big groups when they are ready to reproduce. Even though they are relatively small, these large schools can sometimes push away other fish that also graze on algae.
Tiny Helpers: Symbiotic Bacteria
Did you know that brown surgeonfish have special helpers inside them? Scientists found a very large type of bacteria in their intestines called Epulopiscium fishelsoni.
Bacteria's Role
These bacteria can grow quite big for bacteria, about 600 by 80 micrometers. That's a little smaller than a printed hyphen! These tiny helpers control the pH (how acidic or basic something is) in the fish's gut. This helps the fish digest its food and get nutrients from it. It's a great example of how different living things can help each other!
Brown Surgeonfish and Humans
People interact with brown surgeonfish in a couple of ways.
Fishing and Aquariums
Sometimes, these fish are caught by accident when people are fishing for other types of fish. Their meat can be eaten, either raw or cooked. They are also popular in the aquarium trade, meaning people keep them as pets in home aquariums because of their interesting looks.
