Red Sea surgeonfish
Acanthurus sohal (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.

Sohal Surgeonfish (Acanthurus sohal)
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Open encyclopedia reference
The sohal surgeonfish (Acanthurus sohal) or sohal tang, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, which includes the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. This fish is found in the northwestern Indian Ocean.
Wikipedia contributors, Sohal surgeonfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:32:48.357882+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Acanthurus sohal (Forsskål, 1775)
- Name authority
- (Forsskål, 1775)
- Common name
- Red Sea 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 sohal (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 |
|---|---|
| Choetodon sohab (Forsskål, 1775) (Forsskål, 1775) | synonym |
| Chaetodon sohal Forsskål, 1775 Forsskål, 1775 | synonym |
| Ctenodon ruppelii (Swainson, 1839) (Swainson, 1839) | synonym |
| Acanthurus carinatus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | synonym |
| Aspisurus sohar (Forsskål, 1775) (Forsskål, 1775) | synonym |
| Chaetodon sohar (Forsskål, 1775) (Forsskål, 1775) | 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=219649 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:92QW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.