Sleek unicornfish

The sleek unicornfish (Naso hexacanthus), also known as the blacktongue unicornfish or ʻopelu kala, is a tropical fish in the family Acanthuridae found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is of value in commercial fisheries and as a gamefish, and is also seen in aquaria.

Sleek unicornfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Acanthuridae
Genus: Naso
Species:
N. hexacanthus
Binomial name
Naso hexacanthus
(Bleeker, 1855)

Description

The species does not present a horn like other species in its family. Its colors range from a dark brown to yellow, on occasion changing to blue or silver.[2] Adults measure 75 centimeters in length.[3] The teeth are angled backwards; the tongue is black.[4]

Distribution and habitat

The sleek unicornfish is distributed in the Indo-Pacific, from the Hawaiian islands to Africa and India.[5] It inhabits lagoons and seaward reef slopes.[3]. Due to the sleek unicornfish being seen worldwide their conservation status is labeled as least concern [6].

Ecology

The species consumes plankton and small crustaceans, as well as filamentous algae.[4][6] It is the subject of moderate fisheries.[1]

References
  1. Choat, J.H., McIlwain, J., Abesamis, R., Clements, K.D., Myers, R., Nanola, C., Rocha, L.A., Russell, B. & Stockwell, B. (2012). "Naso hexacanthus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2021.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  2. Sutton, Alan (2019-09-12). "Sleek Unicornfish -Facts and Photographs". Seaunseen. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  3. Naso hexacanthus (Bleeker, 1855). Retrieved from https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Naso+hexacanthus
  4. Naso hexacanthus at www.fishbase.org.
  5. "Naso hexacanthus - Sleek Unicornfish - AquaInfo". aquainfo.org. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  6. "Shorefishes - The Fishes - Species". biogeodb.stri.si.edu. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
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