Powderbrown Tang

Acanthurus japonicas

Powderbrown Tang

Acanthurus japonicas

Other Common Names
Japanese Surgeonfish, Power Black Surgeon

Connected Coasts

Other Common Names

Japanese Surgeonfish, Power Black Surgeon

At the Aquarium

Connected Coasts

Appearance

The body of the powderbrown tang is black which fades to a bright yellow near its tail fin. A white band goes from its eye to its upper lip. Its dorsal and anal fins are black with a yellow line at the base. The edges of the dorsal and anal fins are blue and the dorsal fin also has an orange stripe.

The tail fin of the powderbrown tang is whitish blue with a yellow spot.

The powderbrown tang can quickly change the back half of its body to yellow. This happens due to their emotional state or environmental conditions.

Habitat

Clear lagoon and seaward reefs

Diet

Algae

Life History

Members of the Acanthuridae family like the powderbrown tang spawn pelagic eggs, meaning the eggs float and are carried by ocean currents. Once the eggs hatch they enter a larval stage which eventually settle onto reefs becoming juveniles and then adults.

Under human care the powderbrown tang has been recorded to live about 7 to 8 years.

IUCN Status

Least Concern

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Powderbrown tangs play an important role in maintaining the health of coral reef ecosystems by limiting algal overgrowth which can smother reefs.

Found from southern Japan and southwards to Sulawesi, Indonesia. Also rarely found in Palau.

This animal is not native to the Oregon Coast, however is found in the larger Pacific Ocean. It lives in the Aquarium as part of our Connected Coasts gallery.

Where their ranges overlap, powderbrown tang are known to reproduce with another species of surgeonfish, the Golden Rim Surgeonfish (Acanthurus nigricans).

Citations & Other Resources

Abesamis, R., K.D. Clements, J.H. Choat, J. McIlwain, R. Myers, C. Nanola, L.A. Rocha, B. Russell, and B. Stockwell. 2012. Acanthurus japonicus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012.

Randall, J. E. 2001. Surgeonfishes of the world. Mutual Pub.

DiBattista, J. D., J. Whitney, M.T. Craig, J -P.A. Hobbs, L.A. Rocha, K.A. Feldheim, M.L. Berumen,and B.W. Bowen. 2016. Surgeons and suture zones: Hybridization among four surgeonfish species in the Indo-Pacific with variable evolutionary outcomes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 101, 203–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2016.04.036

Leis, J. M., and D.S. Rennis. (Denise S. 1984. The larvae of Indo-Pacific coral reef fishes. New South Wales University Press.

Powderbrown Tang

Powderbrown Tang

Other Common Names

At the Aquarium

Appearance

Habitat

Diet

Life History

IUCN Status

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Citations & Other Resources

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