Unicornfish
Unicornfish
Naso
UncommonAcanthuridaeVenomous spines
ID points
- Adults have a horn-like projection on the forehead
- Two fixed bony plates on each side of the tail base
- Grey-green colour; upper and lower tail lobes drawn out into filaments
Basics
- Family
- Acanthuridae
- Length
- 40–70 cm
- Depth
- 1-80 m
- Regions
- Indo-Pacific reefs
- Distribution
- Tropical coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific
- Habitat
- Outer reef slopes and drop-offs
- Diet
- Algae, zooplankton
Easily confused with
Blue TangRoyal blue all over, with a black palette-shaped marking on the side
Powder Blue TangPowder blue body, black head like a mask
Achilles TangInk black body with a bright orange teardrop patch on the tail baseFun fact
The unicornfish of the genus Naso carries a hard bony horn projecting from its forehead, and a pair of sharp bony blades on each side of the tail base, which makes it a distinctive member of the surgeonfish family.