Latin name

Acanthurus mata

Other name

Pale surgeonfish, blue-lined surgeonfish, mata surgeonfish, striped surgeonfish, tailring surgeon, white-tail lancet, yellowmask surgeonfish.

Identification

The body is oval in shape and compressed at the sides. The muzzle is relatively short. The mouth is small and pointed. The teeth are shovel-shaped, closely set, with serrated edges, and small for the genus. There is a lanceolate spine on each side of the caudal peduncle, which may retract into a horizontal groove. The total number of gill rakers on the first gill arch is 13-15. The stomach is large, U-shaped, thin-walled with large spiny papillae on the inner surface. 

Features of fish fins

Caudal fin is crescent shaped. Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 24-26; Anal rays: 3; anal soft rays: 23-24. 

Fish colouring

The body is mottled with horizontal bluish lines on a brown background, although this may change over time, becoming generally gray-blue. A yellow longitudinal stripe runs across the eye and divides into two lines. The upper lip is also yellow. The dorsal and anal fins are bluish with a yellowish tinge, the base of the latter emphasized by a thin black line. 

Distribution

This fish is widely distributed in tropical waters from the western Indian Ocean to the archipelagos of the central Pacific. It is reported to occur in Western Australia as far south as Shark Bay. It is not known whether it occurs in Hawaii, Pitcairn and Rapa Islands. In 2021, the species was recorded off the Galapagos Islands in the tropical eastern Pacific. 

Habitat

A marine tropical species. A. mata typically inhabits steep slopes around coral reefs at depths of 5 to 45 meters.

Size

It is a medium-sized fish that can reach 50 centimeters in length. Maximum reported age: 23 years.

Behavior

Acanthurus mata are active during the day. They lead a solitary life. Adults live on steep slopes, often in turbid waters, usually near coral reefs or on rocky bottoms. 

Food and feeding habits

They feed on zooplankton. Elongated surgeonfish are often seen in schools feeding in the water.

Reproduction

Form permanent spawning aggregations.

Fishing

Of commercial interest to fisheries.

Relationship with a person

Sold fresh. The flesh is almost never poisonous, but cases of ciguatera poisoning have been reported on the island of Nauru. The retractable sharp blades on the tail stalk can be dangerous.