Naso lituratus

Naso lituratus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Acanthuridae
Genus: Naso
Species: N. lituratus
Binomial name
Naso lituratus
(J. R. Forster, 1801)

Naso lituratus is a species of fish in the family Acanthuridae, the tangs and unicornfishes. Its common names include barcheek unicornfish, clown tang, masked unicornfish, naso tang, orange-spine surgeonfish, orange-spine unicornfish, Pacific orange-spine unicorn, poll unicornfish, redlip surgeonfish, smooth-head unicornfish, and striped unicornfish.[1]

This species can be found in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. This species can be easily recognised by two bright orange forward-hooked spines on the caudal peduncle (the tail base), its orange lips and black face mask. The body is brownish-grey with yellow nape and there is a broad black band on the dorsal fin. It reaches about 45 cm in length.[2]

It can be found on coral reefs, often in pairs.

References

  1. McIlwain, J., et al. 2012. Naso lituratus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. Downloaded on 03 June 2013.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2008). "Naso lituratus" in FishBase. December 2008 version.


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