Zebrasoma scopas
Scopas surgeon | Brown Sailfin Surgeonfish | Brown Sailfin Tang | Brown Tang | Brushtail Tang | Two-tone Surgeonfish | Twotone Tang
Zebrasoma scopas, French Polynesia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Zebrasoma scopas, NSW, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Zebrasoma scopas, juvenile, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Zebrasoma scopas, Aceh, Indonesia, Photo: Graham Edgar
Similar Species
Distribution
Temperate Australasia, Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Disc-shaped, with long snout and long dorsal and anal fins. Z. rostratum is a similar central Pacific species not known from Australia, and with longer snout.
Information
Max Size: 40 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 21.4-31.2°C
Depth: 1-60 m
Habitat Generalization Index: 23.59
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: Common (46.8% 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 (9 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland