Naso lituratus

Naso lituratus is a species of fish in the family Acanthuridae, the tangs and unicornfishes. Its common names include barcheek unicornfish, naso tang, and orange-spine unicornfish.[1]

Naso lituratus

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Acanthuridae
Genus: Naso
Species:
N. lituratus
Binomial name
Naso lituratus

Unique to members of Acanthuridae, including Naso lituratus, are the Epulopiscium bacteria. These bacteria influence the digestion of Naso lituratus, helping them process the algae in their diet.[2][3][4]

The Naso lituratus species can be found in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. This species can be easily recognised by two bright orange forward-hooked spines on the caudal peduncle (the tail base), its orange lips and black face mask. The body is brownish grey with yellow nape and there is a broad black band on the dorsal fin. It reaches about 45 cm in length.[5]

It can be found on coral reefs, often in pairs.

References
  1. McIlwain, J., et al. 2012. Naso lituratus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. Downloaded on 03 June 2013.
  2. Miyake, Sou; Ngugi, David Kamanda; Stingl, Ulrich (2015). "Diet strongly influences the gut microbiota of surgeonfishes". Molecular Ecology. 24 (3): 656–672. doi:10.1111/mec.13050. ISSN 1365-294X. PMID 25533191.
  3. Fishelson, L. (1999-03-01). "Polymorphism in gigantobacterial symbionts in the guts of surgeonfish (Acanthuridae: Teleostei)". Marine Biology. 133 (2): 345–351. doi:10.1007/s002270050473. ISSN 1432-1793.
  4. Pollak, Peggy E.; Montgomery, W. Linn (1994-08-01). "Giant bacterium (Epulopiscium fishelsoni ) influences digestive enzyme activity of an herbivorous surgeonfish (Acanthurus nigrofuscus)". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology. 108 (4): 657–662. doi:10.1016/0300-9629(94)90352-2. ISSN 0300-9629.
  5. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2008). "Naso lituratus" in FishBase. December 2008 version.


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