brown surgeonfish
Acanthurus nigrofuscus (Forsskål, 1775)
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
Acanthurus nigrofuscus, the brown surgeonfish, blackspot surgeonfish, brown tang, dusky surgeon, lavender tang or spot-cheeked surgeonfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, which includes the surgeonfishes, unicornishes and tangs. This species is a common and abundant fish occurring across a wide Indo-Pacific range.
Wikipedia contributors, Acanthurus nigrofuscus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:38:49.482682+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Acanthurus nigrofuscus (Forsskål, 1775)
- Name authority
- (Forsskål, 1775)
- Common name
- brown surgeonfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Acanthuriformes
- Family
- Acanthuridae
- Genus
- Acanthurus
- 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
- genusAcanthurus Forsskål, 1775
- speciesAcanthurus nigrofuscus (Forsskål, 1775)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Acanthurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| lined surgeonfishAcanthurus lineatus (Linnaeus, 1758) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| backsurgeonfishAcanthurus nigricans (Linnaeus, 1758) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Acanthurus albipectoralis Allen & Ayling, 1987 | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Acanthurus chronixis Randall, 1960 | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| eyestripe surgeonfishAcanthurus dussumieri Valenciennes, 1835 | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Acanthurus grammoptilus Richardson, 1843 | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Acanthurus japonicus (Schmidt, 1931) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Acanthurus leucocheilus Herre, 1927 | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Acanthurus leucopareius (Jenkins, 1903) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| powder-blue surgeonfishAcanthurus leucosternon Bennett, 1833 | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blue-lined surgeonfishAcanthurus mata (Cuvier, 1829) | AcanthuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Acanthurus monroviae Steindachner, 1876 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Ctenodon rubropunctatus (Rüppell, 1829) (Rüppell, 1829) | synonym |
| Hepatus lucillae Fowler, 1938 Fowler, 1938 | synonym |
| Acanthurus lineolatus Valenciennes, 1835 Valenciennes, 1835 | synonym |
| Acanthurus matoides Valenciennes, 1835 Valenciennes, 1835 | synonym |
| Acronurus lineolatus Klunziger, 1871 Klunziger, 1871 | synonym |
| Chaetodon nigrofuscus Forsskål, 1775 Forsskål, 1775 | synonym |
| Hepatus fuliginosus (Lesson, 1831) (Lesson, 1831) | synonym |
| Hepatus lineolatus (Valenciennes, 1835) (Valenciennes, 1835) | synonym |
| Teuthis lucillae (Fowler, 1938) (Fowler, 1938) | synonym |
| Acanthurus fuliginosus Lesson, 1831 Lesson, 1831 | synonym |
| Acanthurus rubropunctatus Rüppell, 1829 Rüppell, 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=219640 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:92PZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.