sleek unicornfish
Naso hexacanthus (Bleeker, 1855)
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.
Sleek unicornfish (Naso hexacanthus), Red Sea, Egypt
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The sleek unicornfish (Naso hexacanthus), also known as the blue-tail unicorn, Thorpe's unicornfish, blacktongue unicornfish or ʻopelu kala, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. This species is found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is of value in commercial fisheries and as a game fish, and is also seen in aquaria.
Wikipedia contributors, Sleek unicornfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:46:35.561738+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Naso hexacanthus (Bleeker, 1855)
- Name authority
- (Bleeker, 1855)
- Common name
- sleek unicornfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Acanthuriformes
- Family
- Acanthuridae
- Genus
- Naso
- 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
- genusNaso Lacepède, 1801
- speciesNaso hexacanthus (Bleeker, 1855)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Naso. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| spotted unicornfishNaso brevirostris (Cuvier, 1829) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Naso caeruleacauda Randall, 1994 | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Naso caesius Randall & Bell, 1992 | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Naso elegans (Rüppell, 1829) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| orangespine unicornfishNaso lituratus (Forster, 1801) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Naso maculatus Randall & Struhsaker, 1981 | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Naso reticulatus Randall, 2001 | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| oneknife unicornfishNaso thynnoides (Cuvier, 1829) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Naso tonganus (Valenciennes, 1835) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| humpnose unicornfishNaso tuberosus Lacepède, 1801 | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Blue-spine nosefishNaso unicornis (Forsskål, 1775) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| white margin unicornfishNaso annulatus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Naseus vomer Klunzinger, 1871 Klunzinger, 1871 | synonym |
| Naso vomer (Klunzinger, 1871) (Klunzinger, 1871) | synonym |
| Priodon hexacanthus Bleeker, 1855 Bleeker, 1855 | synonym |
| Naso thorpei Smith, 1966 Smith, 1966 | synonym |
| Callicanthus hexacanthus (Bleeker, 1855) (Bleeker, 1855) | synonym |
| Naso tapeinosoma | synonym |
| Naso hexacantus (Bleeker, 1855) (Bleeker, 1855) | 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=219667 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:6S6F8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.