Acanthurus fowleri

Acanthurus fowleri, Fowler's surgeonfish or the horseshoe surgeonfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes or tangs. This fish is found in the Western Pacific Ocean.

Acanthurus fowleri
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Acanthuridae
Genus: Acanthurus
Species:
A. fowleri
Binomial name
Acanthurus fowleri

Taxonomy

Acanthurus fowleri was first formally described in 1951 by the Dutch ichthyologist Lieven Ferdinand de Beaufort with its type localities given as Buika Island off Sulawesi in Indonesia, Maitara and Gomomo Islands in the Philippines.[2] The genus Acanthurus is one of two genera in the tribe Acanthurini which is one of three tribes in the subfamily Acanthurinae which is one of two subfamilies in the family Acanthuridae.[3]

Etymology

Acanthurus fowleri has a specific name honouring the American biologist Henry Weed Fowler of the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences who originally reported this species buit misidentified it as Hepatus pyroferus.[4]

Description

Acanthurus fowleri has its dorsal fin supported by 9 spines and between 26 and 28 soft rays while the anal fin is supported by 3 spines and 25 to 26 soft rays. There is a large horseshoe-shaped blue or black mark on the flanks close to the head with its open end to the front and its upper part level with the eye over the upper end of the gill slit and the lower end over the base of the pectoral fins. The blue head is a diffused with purple. The caudal fin is blackish in the middle with each lobe having a yellow band merging with a white band at the base of the fin and the rear margin has a thin blue stripe..[5] The main colour on the body is bluish-grey.[6] This species has a maximum published standard length of 45 cm (18 in).[5]

Distribution and habitat

Acanthurus fowleri is found in the tropical West Pacific. from the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia east to the Solomon Islands. In Australian waters it is found at the Scott Reef and the Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea. They are found in water deeper then 20 m (66 ft) over outer reef slopes.[7]

References
  1. Abesamis, R.; Clements, K.D.; McIlwain, J.; et al. (2012). "Acanthurus fowleri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T177959A1503075. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T177959A1503075.en. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  2. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Acanthurus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  3. J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 497–502. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
  4. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (12 January 2021). "Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 2): Families EPHIPPIDAE, LEIOGNATHIDAE, SCATOPHAGIDAE, ANTIGONIIDAE, SIGANIDAE, CAPROIDAE, LUVARIDAE, ZANCLIDAE and ACANTHURIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  5. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2023). "Acanthurus fowleri" in FishBase. June 2023 version.
  6. "Acanthurus fowleri". Reef Life Survey. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  7. Dianne J. Bray. "Acanthurus fowleri". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
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