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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
blue
tang |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Actinopterygii |
| ORDER: |
Perciformes |
| FAMILY: |
Acanthuridae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Acanthurus coeruleus |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Blue to deep purple ovoid body with white or yellow
spine along caudal peduncle. Intermediate form has
a blue body and yellow caudal fin. Juvenile form
has a yellow body with a light blue edging along
the dorsal and anal fins. Dorsal fin is continuous
from gill plate to caudal peduncle. Slightly centrally
cleft (emarginate) caudal fin. |
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| SIZE: |
12-25 cm (5-10 in) avg; 38 cm (15 in) max |
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| WEIGHT: |
600.0 g (1.6 lbs) avg |
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| DIET: |
Marine plants and detritus |
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| INCUBATION: |
When breeding, blue tangs will congregate - forming
spawning aggregations. Within these aggregations,
they release gametes into the water column - introducing
pelagic eggs. These eggs then incubate over the
next several weeks to months following release.
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
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| MALE |
11 cm |
| FEMALE |
13
cm |
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| RANGE: |
Western Atlantic = New York (seasonal) and Bermuda
to Gulf of Mexico and Brazil
Eastern Atlantic = Ascension Island |
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| HABITAT: |
2-40 meters in tropical & sub-tropical marine
coastal waters |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Global population statistics are not currently available;
however this fish species in not considered threatened
or endangered. |
| REGIONAL |
In a ten-year study conducted in the waters adjacent
to the Virgin Islands, blue tangs were found to
be more plentiful than any other fish species, accounting
for an observed 15.4% of the region's overall fish
population. |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not listed |
| CITES |
Not listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
The
blue tang's scientific order, Perciformes, is the
largest vertebrate order - with 148 families containing
roughly 9,300 species. |
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| 2. |
Blue tangs are capable of adjusting the intensity
of their hue - from light blue to deep purple. |
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| 3. |
Blue tangs are often found swimming in large schools
cruising over the reef top, grazing on algae. These
conglomerations are often composed of multiple species
within the Acanthuridae (surgeonfish and tangs)
family. |
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| 4. |
The
blue tang possesses a sharp spine, or modified scale,
located along either lateral edge of the caudal
peduncle. These spines may be made to stand erect,
providing the tang with an effective means of self-defense. |
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| 5. |
The
flesh of the blue tang is poisonous. |
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| 6. |
For
more information about bony fishes, explore the
bony
fishes info book. |
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Blue tangs primarily rely on marine algal species
for sustenance. Algal resources available within
the tang's habitat are often objects of high competition.
Perhaps most notably, individual and/or paired damselfish
prove to be extremely successful in their defense
of an algal grazing territory. Blue tangs, however,
are often find success in overwhelming these aggressively
defended territories via the formation of large
grazing aggregations. Recent alterations in algal
communities throughout the Caribbean have had significant
impacts on the populations of blue tangs. Movements
of blue tangs are largely limited to single reef
habitats, though they are wide-ranging over said
reef. Accordingly, specific environmental impact
over a particular reef site may exert extreme pressures
over a local blue tang population.
Blue
tangs are a popular saltwater aquarium specimen.
They are commonly collected from the Caribbean
basin for introduction into the commercial aquarium
trade.
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| |
|
|
| Bond,
Carl E. Biology of Fishes - Second Edition.
Saunders College Publishing, 1996. |
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|
Humann, Paul. Reef Fish Identification - Florida,
Caribbean, Bahamas. New World Publications,
Inc., 1992. |
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www.cites.org
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| www.core.ecu.edu |
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| www.fishbase.org |
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| www.iucn.org |
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| www.nature.nps.gov |
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