Paletail Unicornfish

Naso brevirostris

Light blue-grey to dark olive-brown, narrow dark vertical stripes.
Horn becomes longer with age.

Size : 60 cm

Habitat : In deep lagoons and at outer reef slopes, 1-50 m. Usually in groups in the open water where it feeds on plankton. Juveniles and sub-adults graze on algae growth.
Can abruptly change colouration, e.g. during the mating ritual the male displays a broad, pale-blue crossband at the front of its body.

Distribution : Red Sea to South Africa, SW Japan, Hawaii and Ducie Islands.

Classification

KINGDOM

:

Animalia

PHYLUM

:

Chordata

CLASS

:

Actinopterygii

ORDER

:

Acanthuriformes

FAMILY

:

Acanthuridae

GENUS

:

Naso

SPECIES

:

Naso brevirostris

Other Information

Population Status

Least Concern (LC)

PHOTO COLLECTION

Reference

  1. inaturalist.org
  2. Reef Fishes of the Indo-Pacific. Book by Matthias Bergbauer and Manuela Kirschner