Scientific Name
Acanthurus achilles

Common Name
Achilles tang

Biology
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 29-33; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 26 - 29. Dark brown, nearly black in color. Erectile spine (sharp and forward-pointing) on each side of caudal peduncle which folds down into a groove. Mouth small, snout noticeably extended. Light blue ring around chin and presence of spot of same color on gill cover at angle of gill opening. Dorsal fin with soft part having longer base than spinous part. Juveniles lack the large orange spot on caudal area.

Classification

Classified By

Shaw, 1803

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes (Acanthuridae)

Distribution

Region

Western Pacific

Distribution

Western Pacific: oceanic islands of Oceania to the Hawaiian and Pitcairn islands. Also known from Wake, Marcus, and Mariana islands. Eastern Central Pacific: southern tip of Baja California, Mexico (Ref. 9267) and other offshore islands.

Range

28°N - 26°S, 143°E - 109°W

Environment

Climate

Tropical

Water Temperature From

26 °C

Water Temperature To

28 °C

Depth From - meters

0 m

Depth To - meters

10 m

Zone

reef-associated

Environment

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 10 m (Ref. 27115), usually 0 - 4 m (Ref. 9710)

Trophic Level

2 s.e. 0.00 Based on food items.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

False

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

True

Is kept in Aquariums

True

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

24.0 cm

Common Length

Unknown cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial

Vulnerability

Low vulnerability (25 of 100)

Resilience

High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Threat To Humans

Traumatogenic (Ref. 4690)

IUCN Red List Status

Not Evaluated