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Naso unicornis  (Forsskål, 1775)

Bluespine unicornfish
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Naso unicornis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Naso unicornis (Bluespine unicornfish)
Naso unicornis
Picture by Field, R.


country information

Common names: [No common name]
Occurrence:
Salinity:
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments:
National Checklist:
Country Information:
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Acanthuridae (Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes) > Nasinae
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Main reference

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 70.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710); common length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3146)

Environment

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 180 m (Ref. 89972)

Climate / Range

Tropical; 26°C - 29°C (Ref. 27115), preferred 28°C (Ref. 107945); 35°N - 33°S

Distribution

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa (Ref. 3145) to the Hawaiian, Marquesas and Tuamoto islands, north to southern Japan, south to Lord Howe and Rapa islands. Presence in Somalia to be confirmed (Ref. 30573).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 6; Dorsal soft rays (total): 27-30; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 27 - 30. This species is characterized by the following: body depth 1.8 (in subadults) - 2.6 (adults) in SL; presence of a tapering body horn in adults projecting anteriorly at level of eye but not extending in front of mouth (horn first as a bump on forehead at a length of about 12 cm); dorsal profile from snout to horn straight, angle of about 45°; 2 peduncular plates with well-developed forward-curving knife-like spines; emarginate caudal fin when young, truncate with filamentous lobes in adult; olivaceous with blue peduncular plates and spines; dorsal and anal fins yellowish with narrow blue stripes (Ref. 27362).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabit channels, moats, lagoon and seaward reefs with strong surge (Ref. 48637). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Typically occurring in small groups. Sometimes solitary (Ref. 90102).Juveniles in shallow protected bays and harbours (Ref. 48637). Mainly diurnal, feed on coarse leafy brown algae like Sargassum. Pair-spawning has been observed.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 4795)



Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial

More information

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

BHL | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(fisheries: production; publication : search) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | Public aquariums | PubMed | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
2.2   ±0.11 se; Based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.14)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
Low to moderate vulnerability (32 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
Medium