palette surgeonfish
Paracanthurus hepatus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Paracanthurus hepatus is a species of Indo-Pacific surgeonfish. A popular fish in marine aquaria, it is the only member of the genus Paracanthurus.
A number of common names are attributed to the species, including palette surgeonfish, blue surgeonfish, blue tang (leading to confusion with the Atlantic species Acanthurus coeruleus), flagtail surgeonfish, hepatus tang, Indo-Pacific bluetang, regal blue surgeonfish, wedge-tailed tang, wedgetail blue tang, royal blue tang, hippo tang, blue hippo tang, regal tang, and regal blue tang.
It is most closely related to genus Zebrasoma, with which it forms a sister group.
Wikipedia contributors, Paracanthurus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:41:21.007550+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Paracanthurus hepatus (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Common name
- palette surgeonfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Acanthuriformes
- Family
- Acanthuridae
- Genus
- Paracanthurus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderAcanthuriformes
- familyAcanthuridae Bonaparte, 1835
- genusParacanthurus Bleeker, 1863
- speciesParacanthurus hepatus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Paracanthurus theuthis (Lacepède, 1802) (Lacepède, 1802) | synonym |
| Teuthis hepatus Linnaeus, 1766 Linnaeus, 1766 | synonym |
| Acanthurus hepatus (Linnaeus, 1766) (Linnaeus, 1766) | synonym |
| Acanthurus theuthis Lacepède, 1802 Lacepède, 1802 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=219676 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4CNKK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.