twotone tang
Zebrasoma scopas (Cuvier, 1829)
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.
Zebrasoma scopas in the aquarium at London Zoo
William Warby · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Zebrasoma scopas, the brown tang, twotone tang, scopas tang or brush-tail tang, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae which includes the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. The brown tang is found throughout Oceania and is a herbivorous fish, feeding predominantly on filamentous algae. It is a highly popular fish in the aquarium trade.
Wikipedia contributors, Zebrasoma scopas; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:58:39.338941+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Zebrasoma scopas (Cuvier, 1829)
- Name authority
- (Cuvier, 1829)
- Common name
- twotone tang
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Acanthuriformes
- Family
- Acanthuridae
- Genus
- Zebrasoma
- 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
- genusZebrasoma Swainson, 1839
- speciesZebrasoma scopas (Cuvier, 1829)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Zebrasoma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| spotted tangZebrasoma gemmatum (Valenciennes, 1835) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| purple tangZebrasoma xanthurum (Blyth, 1852) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Zebrasoma rostratum (Günther, 1875) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Zebrasoma desjardinii (Bennett, 1836) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| yellow tangZebrasoma flavescens (Bennett, 1828) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Zebrasoma velifer (Bloch, 1795) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Zebrasoma scopes (Cuvier, 1829) (Cuvier, 1829) | synonym |
| Zebrasoma scopoas (Cuvier, 1829) (Cuvier, 1829) | synonym |
| Zebrasoma supraalba Fowler, 1946 Fowler, 1946 | synonym |
| Acanthurus altivelis Valenciennes, 1835 Valenciennes, 1835 | synonym |
| Acanthurus ruppelii Bennett, 1836 Bennett, 1836 | synonym |
| Acanthurus scopas Cuvier, 1829 Cuvier, 1829 | synonym |
| Acanthurus suillus Cuvier, 1829 Cuvier, 1829 | 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=219679 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.
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:5CYHF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.