Naso tuberosus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Acanthuridae
Genus: Naso
Subgenus: Naso
Species:
N. tuberosus
Binomial name
Naso tuberosus

Naso tuberosus, the humpnose unicornfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. This species occurs in the Indian Ocean but it may be more widespread.

Taxonomy

Naso tuberosus was first formally described in 1801 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède with its type locality given as Mauritius.[2] This species is classified within the nominate subgenus of the genus Naso.[3] The genus Naso is the only genus in the subfamily Nasinae in the family Acanthuridae.[4]

Etymology

Naso tuberosus has the specific name tuberosus, meaning "lumpy", a reference to the bulging protuberance on the front of its head.[3]

Description

Naso tuberosus has a dorsal fin which is supported by 5 spines and between 26 and 29 soft rays while the anal fin is supported by 2 spines and 26 to 28 soft rays.[5] There are between 30 and 46 teeth in each jaw. the number increasing as the fish grows, and these have serrated tips. The depth of the body fits into the standard length around 2.3 to 2.7 times, adults having less deep bodies than subadults. The adults have a bulging protuberance on the front of the head, this never extends beyond the mouth. The dorsal profile of the body is weakly convex underneath the spiny part of the dorsal fin. There is a pair of bony plates on either side of the caudal peduncle and each has a keel with a forward projecting point. The caudal fin is very emarginate in juveniles and slightly emarginate in adults.[6] The overall colour is greyish with small blackish spots on the upper part of the body.[7] A large black spot is located underneath and to trhe front of the base of the pectoral fins. This species has attained a maximum published standard length of 60 cm (24 in).[5]

Distribution and habitat

Naso tuberosus is an uncommon species found in the Indian Ocean, it may occur in the western Pacific Ocean but this many, if not all records, outside the Pacific Ocean may refer to Naso tonganus.[7] The humpnose unicornfish has been recorded from the eastern coast of Africa from Somalia as far south as Sodwana Bay in South Africa, the Comoro Islands, Madagascar, the Seychelles, the Mascarenes and from Yemen.[1] It has also been found at Rottnest Island in Western Australia and from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.[7] This species is found mainly on coral reefs where it grazes on algae of the genus Caulerpa.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Abesamis, R.; Clements, K.D.; Choat, J.H.; et al. (2012). "Naso tuberosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T178003A1517869. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T178003A1517869.en.
  2. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Naso". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 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. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2023). "Naso tuberosus" in FishBase. June 2023 version.
  6. ↑ John E. Randall (2022). "Family Acanthuridae". In Phillip C Heemstra; Elaine Heemstra; David A Ebert; Wouter Holleman; John E Randall (eds.). Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean (PDF). Vol. 5. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. pp. 219–244. ISBN 978-1-990951-32-9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-06-12. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  7. 1 2 3 Bray, D.J. (2020). "Naso tuberosus". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
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