Acanthurus: Difference between revisions

| image = Acanthurus chirurgusleucosternon - pone.0010676.g18301.pngJPG

| image_caption = ''[[Acanthurus chirurgusleucosternon]]''

| image2 = Acanthurus coeruleusachilles - pone.0010676.g184(cropped).pngjpg

| image2_caption = ''[[Acanthurus coeruleusachilles]]''

| type_species = ''[[Paracanthurus|Teuthis hepatus]]'' or ''[[Sohal surgeonfish|Chaetodon sohal]]''

| type_species_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]<ref name = CofF/> or Forsskål, 1775<ref name = Demirjian/>

| subdivision_ranks = speciesSpecies

| subdivision = seeSee text

| ''Acronurus ''<br>{{small| [[Laurens Theodorus Gronovius|Gronow]] in [[John Edward Gray|Gray]] 1854}}

| ''Aspisurus'' <br>{{small| [[Bernard Germain de Lacépède| Lacépède]], 1802}}

| ''Ctenodon'' <br>{{small| [[William John Swainson|Swainson]], 1839}}

| ''Harpurina'' <br>{{small| [[Henry Weed Fowler|Fowler]] & [[Barton Appler Bean|Bean]], 1929}}

| ''Harpurus'' <br>{{small| [[Johann Reinhold Forster]], 1788}}

| ''Rhomboteuthis'' <br>{{small| Fowler, 1944}}

| ''Rhombotides'' <br>{{small| [[Pieter Bleeker|Bleeker]], 1863}}

| ''Theutis'' <br>{{small| [[Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre|Bonnaterre]], 1788}}

| ''Theutys'' <br>{{small| [[Antoine Gouan|Goüan]], 1770}}

| synonyms_ref = <ref name = CofF/>

'''''Acanthurus''''' is a [[genus]] of marine [[ray-finned fish]] belonging to the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Acanthuridae]], which includes the surgeionfishessurgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs, found in the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]], [[Indian Ocean|Indian]] and [[Pacific Ocean]]. They are found in [[tropics|tropical oceans]], especially near [[coral reef]]s, with most [[species]] in the [[Indo-Pacific]] but a few are found in the Atlantic Ocean. As other members of the family, they have a pair of [[Spine (zoology)|spines]], one on either side of the base of the [[Caudal fin|tail]] which are dangerously sharp.

''Acanthurus'' was first proposed as a [[subgenus]] of ''[[Chaetodon]]'' in 1775 by the [[Swedish-speaking population of Finland|Swedish-speaking Finnish]] [[exploration|explorer]], [[oriental studies|orientalist]] and [[natural history|naturalist]] [[Peter Forsskål]], although he recognised that it was probably disfferentdifferent from ''Chaetodon'' even at the family level. In 1856 [[Eugène Anselme Sébastien Léon Desmarest|Desmarest]] designated ''Teuthis hepatus'', which had been [[Species description|described]] from a [[Type (biology)|type]] now known to have been collected at Ambon Island in the Moluccas (other erroneous type localities were named) in 1758 by Linnaeus, as the [[type species]] of the genus.<ref name = CofF>{{Cof family|family=Acanthuridae|access-date=28 August 2023}}</ref><ref name = CofF2>{{Cof genus|genus=Acanthurus|access-date=28 August 2023}}</ref> ''T. hepatus'' is a [[Synonym (taxonomy)|synonym]] of ''[[Paracanthurus hepatus]]'' and this would make ''Paracanthurus'' synonymous with ''Acanthurus''. An alternative would be to use the name ''Harpurus'' proposed as a [[monospecific genus]] in 1788 by [[Johann Reinhold Forster]] when he described ''Harpurus fasciatus'', a synonym of ''Acanthurus triostegus''. It has been proposed that the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature should be petitioned to stabilise the genera ''Acanthurus'' and ''Paracanthurus''.<ref name = Fricke>{{cite journal |author=[[Ronald Fricke]] |year=2008 |title=Authorship, availability and validity of fish names described by Peter (Pehr) Simon Forsskål and Johann Christian Fabricius in the 'Descriptiones animalium' by Carsten Niebuhr in 1775 (Pisces) |journal=Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde A, Neue Serie. |volume=1 |pages=1-761–76 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235686196_Authorship_availability_and_validity_of_fish_names_described_by_Peter_Pehr_Simon_Forsskal_and_Johann_Christian_Fabricius_in_the_'Descriptiones_animalium'_by_Carsten_Niebuhr_in_1775_Pisces}}</ref> In 2014 it was proposed that the type species of ''Acanthurus'' should be ''[[Sohal surgeonfish|Chaetodon sohal]]'', which had also been described by Forsskål in 1775 as a member of the subgenus alongside ''[[Acanthopagrus bifasciatus|C. bifasciatus]]'', ''[[Acanthurus nigrofuscus|C. nigrofuscus]]'' and ''[[Bluespine unicornfish|C. unicornis]]'', and had been designated as the type species by [[David Starr Jordan|Jordan]] and [[Barton Warren Evermann|Evermann]] in 1917.<ref name = Demirjian>{{cite journal| author=Vahe D. Demirjian | year=2014 |title=''Acanthurus'' Forsskål, 1775 (Osteichthyes, ACANTHURIDAE): proposed conservation by designation of ''Chaetodon sohal'' Forsskål, 1775 as the type species |journal=Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=81-8381–83 |url=https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/38106/32702}}</ref>

It has been proposed that the genus ''[[Ctenochaetus]]'' should be merged with ''Acanthurus'' as otherwise ''Acanthurus'' is [[paraphyletic]].<ref name = Sorenson>{{cite journal |author1=Laurie Sorenson |author2=Francesco Santini |author3=Giorgio Carnevale |author4=Michael E. Alfaro |title=A multi-locus timetree of surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae, Percomorpha), with revised family taxonomy |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=68 |issue=1 |year=2013 |pages=150-160150–160 |issn=1055-7903 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2013.03.014}}</ref> The 5th edition of ''[[Fishes of the World]]'' recognises these two genera as valid and classifies them as the two genera in the [[Tribe (biology)|tribe]] [[Acanthurini]] of the [[subfamily]] [[Acanthurinae]] within the family Acanthuridae.<ref name = Nelson5>{{cite book |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |author1=J. S. Nelson |author2=T. C. Grande |author3=M. V. H. Wilson |year=2016 |pages=497-502497–502 |publisher=Wiley |ISBN=978-1-118-34233-6}}</ref>

There are currently 41 recognized species in this genus:<ref name = "Fishbase">{{FishBase genus|genus=Acanthurus|month=June|year=2023}}</ref>

* ''[[Acanthurus albimento]]'' <small>[[Kent E. Carpenter|K. E. Carpenter]], [[Jeffrey Taylor Williams|J. T. Williams]] & [[Mudjekeewis Dalisay Santos|M. D. Santos]], 2017</small> (White-chin surgeonfish)<ref name="Carpenter2017">Carpenter, K.E., Williams, J.T. & Santos, M.D. (2017): [http://oceansciencefoundation.org/josf/josf25d.pdf ''Acanthurus albimento'', a new species of surgeonfish (Acanthuriformes: Acanthuridae) from northeastern Luzon, Philippines, with comments on zoogeography.] ''Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, 25: 33–46.''</ref>

* ''[[Acanthurus nigros]]'' <small>[[Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther|Günther]], 1861</small> (Grey-head surgeonfish)<ref name="Randall2011">Randall, J.E., DiBattista, J.D. & Wilcox, C. (2011): ''Acanthurus nigros'' Günther, a Valid Species of Surgeonfish, Distinct from the Hawaiian ''A. nigroris'' Valenciennes. ''Pacific Science, 65 (2): 265–275.''</ref>

* ''[[Acanthurus tractus]]'' <small>[[Felipe Poey y Aloy|F. Poey]], 1860</small> (Ocean surgeonfish)<ref name="Bernal2011">Bernal, M.A. & Rocha, L.A. (2011): [http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2011/f/zt02905p068.pdf ''Acanthurus tractus'' Poey, 1860, a valid western Atlantic species of surgeonfish (Teleostei, Acanthuridae), distinct from ''Acanthurus bahianus'' Castelnau, 1855.] ''Zootaxa, 2905: 63–68.''</ref>

{{commonsCommons category|Acanthurus}}