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Paracanthurus
Paracanthurus hepatus is a species of Indo-Pacific surgeonfish. A popular fish in marine aquaria, it is the only member of the genus Paracanthurus.
A number of common names are attributed to the species, including regal tang, palette surgeonfish, blue tang (leading to confusion with the Atlantic species Acanthurus coeruleus), royal blue tang, hippo tang, blue hippo tang, flagtail surgeonfish, Pacific regal blue tang, blue surgeonfish, hepatus tang, Indo-Pacific blue tang, regal blue surgeonfish, wedge-tailed tang, and wedgetail blue tang.
It is most closely related to genus Zebrasoma, with which it forms a sister group.
Paracanthurus hepatus has a royal blue body, yellow tail, and black "palette" design. Its length at first sexual maturity is 149.2 mm. Adults typically weigh around 600 g (21 oz) and males are generally larger than females. The back has a broad black area that encloses at the tip of the pectoral, creating a blue oval on each side of the fish that extends in the direction of the eye. The tail has a bright yellow triangle with its apex anterior to the caudal spine and its base at the posterior end of the caudal fin. Black surrounds the triangle on the upper and lower lobes of the caudal fin, in the same hue as the back area.
Paracanthurus has small scales, each with short ctenii on the upper surface. Scales on the caudal spine possess ctenii approximately three times as long as scales on the rest of the body. Scales anteriorly placed on the head between the eye and the upper jaw are larger with tuberculated, bony plates.
This fish has a compressed, elliptical body shape, and a terminal snout. It has nine dorsal spines, 26–28 dorsal soft rays, three anal spines, and 24–26 anal soft yellow rays, and 16 principal caudal rays with slightly projecting upper and lower lobes. Its pelvic fin is made up of one spine and three rays; this characteristic is considered a synapomorphy of the Naso and Paracanthurus genus. The caudal peduncle has a spine located in a shallow groove, which is also a characteristic of its sister taxa Zebrasoma. It has 22 vertebrae. Paracanthurus has teeth that are small, close-set, denticulated, and described as incisor-like.
Jaw morphology includes an ectopterygoid that links the palatine to the quadrate near the articular condyle. A crest is present on the anterodorsal surface of the hyomandibular. The opercle is less developed, with a distinctly convex profile.
Some slight variation in appearance is present within Paracanthurus. The lower body is yellow in west-central Indian Ocean individuals, and bluish in Pacific individuals (4). Additionally, the blue color on the trunk of Paracanthurus loses pigmentation in response to changes in light or melatonin levels, making its appearance slightly lighter in color at night.
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Paracanthurus
Paracanthurus hepatus is a species of Indo-Pacific surgeonfish. A popular fish in marine aquaria, it is the only member of the genus Paracanthurus.
A number of common names are attributed to the species, including regal tang, palette surgeonfish, blue tang (leading to confusion with the Atlantic species Acanthurus coeruleus), royal blue tang, hippo tang, blue hippo tang, flagtail surgeonfish, Pacific regal blue tang, blue surgeonfish, hepatus tang, Indo-Pacific blue tang, regal blue surgeonfish, wedge-tailed tang, and wedgetail blue tang.
It is most closely related to genus Zebrasoma, with which it forms a sister group.
Paracanthurus hepatus has a royal blue body, yellow tail, and black "palette" design. Its length at first sexual maturity is 149.2 mm. Adults typically weigh around 600 g (21 oz) and males are generally larger than females. The back has a broad black area that encloses at the tip of the pectoral, creating a blue oval on each side of the fish that extends in the direction of the eye. The tail has a bright yellow triangle with its apex anterior to the caudal spine and its base at the posterior end of the caudal fin. Black surrounds the triangle on the upper and lower lobes of the caudal fin, in the same hue as the back area.
Paracanthurus has small scales, each with short ctenii on the upper surface. Scales on the caudal spine possess ctenii approximately three times as long as scales on the rest of the body. Scales anteriorly placed on the head between the eye and the upper jaw are larger with tuberculated, bony plates.
This fish has a compressed, elliptical body shape, and a terminal snout. It has nine dorsal spines, 26–28 dorsal soft rays, three anal spines, and 24–26 anal soft yellow rays, and 16 principal caudal rays with slightly projecting upper and lower lobes. Its pelvic fin is made up of one spine and three rays; this characteristic is considered a synapomorphy of the Naso and Paracanthurus genus. The caudal peduncle has a spine located in a shallow groove, which is also a characteristic of its sister taxa Zebrasoma. It has 22 vertebrae. Paracanthurus has teeth that are small, close-set, denticulated, and described as incisor-like.
Jaw morphology includes an ectopterygoid that links the palatine to the quadrate near the articular condyle. A crest is present on the anterodorsal surface of the hyomandibular. The opercle is less developed, with a distinctly convex profile.
Some slight variation in appearance is present within Paracanthurus. The lower body is yellow in west-central Indian Ocean individuals, and bluish in Pacific individuals (4). Additionally, the blue color on the trunk of Paracanthurus loses pigmentation in response to changes in light or melatonin levels, making its appearance slightly lighter in color at night.