Acanthurus thompsoni

Acanthuridae
Night Surgeonfish, Thompson's Surgeonfish, Thompson's Tang, Chocolate Surgeonfish, Night Surgeonfish, Whitetail Surgeonfish
  • Acanthurus thompsoni, Maldives, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
    Acanthurus thompsoni, Maldives, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
  • Acanthurus thompsoni, Niue, Photo: Graham Edgar
    Acanthurus thompsoni, Niue, Photo: Graham Edgar
  • Acanthurus thompsoni, Aceh, Indonesia, Photo: Graham Edgar
    Acanthurus thompsoni, Aceh, Indonesia, Photo: Graham Edgar
Distribution
Temperate Australasia, Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Uniformly dark, oval-shaped body with a lunate, white tail and a rounded head with dark spots. Forms schools which feed on plankton in the water column, well above the reef.
Information
  • Max Size: 27 cm
  • Sea Temperature Range: 22.6-31.2°C
  • Depth: 4-119m
  • Habitat: Coral Reef
  • Habitat Generalisation Index: 14.8
    Also referred to as the SGI (Species generalisation index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here
Rarity
  • IUCN Threat Status: Least Concern
  • Occurrence: Frequent (12% of sites)
    Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
  • Abundance: Many (13 per transect)
    Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Joe Shields
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