Indian Ocean Nose Tang
Indian Ocean Nose Tang
Naso elegans
UncommonAcanthuridaeVenomous spines
ID points
- Bright yellow dorsal fin, two orange plates on the tail base
- Orange-yellow lips and snout, fine lines around the eye
- Adults trail long white filaments from the upper and lower tail lobes
Basics
- Family
- Acanthuridae
- Length
- 25–45 cm
- Depth
- 1-30 m
- Regions
- Indo-Pacific reefs
- Distribution
- Indian Ocean coral reefs and reef slopes
- Habitat
- Coral reef slopes
- Diet
- Algae
Easily confused with
Achilles TangInk black body with a bright orange teardrop patch on the tail base
Powder Blue TangPowder blue body, black head like a mask
Blue TangRoyal blue all over, with a black palette-shaped marking on the sideFun fact
Adult Indian Ocean nose tangs grow a distinctive bony horn on the forehead whose purpose is still unknown, and they carry two fixed, razor-sharp blades on each side of the tail base.