Ctenochaetus cyanocheilus
Yelloweye Bristletooth | Goldring Bristletooth | Indo-Pacific Yellow Tang | Ctenochaetus strigosus
Ctenochaetus cyanocheilus, adult, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Ctenochaetus cyanocheilus, adult, Bali, Indonesia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Ctenochaetus cyanocheilus, juvenile, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Similar Species
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Brown with pale spots on head and chest, thin pale lines on body, bluish mouth, almost straight rear tail margin and often yellow ring around eye. Juveniles bright yellow. Blueish mouth and less lunate tail shape distinguish it from C. binotatus (Twospot Surgeonfish), C. striatus (Lined Bristletooth), Acanthurus nigrofuscus (Dusky Surgeonfish) and A. nigroris (Greyhead Surgeonfish). Juvenile easily confused with other yellow surgeonfish juveniles - best distinguished by body shape and presence of adults.
Information
Max Size: 16 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 23-31.2°C
Depth: 1-46m
Habitat Generalization Index: 13.44
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.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Least Concern
Occurrence: Frequent (19.5% 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: Several (10 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Joe Shields