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Zebrasoma desjardinii

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Zebrasoma desjardinii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Acanthuridae
Genus: Zebrasoma
Species:
Z. desjardinii
Binomial name
Zebrasoma desjardinii
Synonyms[2]
  • Acanthurus desjardinii E. T. Bennett, 1836
  • Zebrasoma desjardini (E. T. Bennett, 1836)

Zebrasoma desjardinii, the Red Sea sailfin tang, Desjardin's sailfin tang, Indian sailfin tang or Indian sailfin surgeonfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. This fish is found in the Indian Ocean.

Taxonomy

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Zebrasoma desjardinii was first formally described in 1836 as Acanthurus desjardinii by the English zoologist Edward Turner Bennett with its type locality given as Mauritius.[3] In the past, this taxon was treated as conspecific or synonymous with Zebrasoma velifer.[4] The genera Zebrasoma and Paracanthurus make up the tribe Zebrasomini within the subfamily Acanthurinae in the family Acanthuridae, according to the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.[5]

Etymology

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The specific name of Zebrasoma desjardinii honours the French zoologist Julien Desjardins; he lived for a number of years in Mauritius and donated a collection of fishes to the British Museum of Natural History, including the type of this species.[6]

Description

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Zebrasoma desjardinii has a tall dorsal fin that has 4 spines and between 27 and 31 soft rays (the longest of which is around half of the standard length), while these figures for the anal fin are 2 and between 22 and 24 respectively.[2] It has a deep body, with the standard length being 1.8 to 2 times its depth; the maximum published total length of this species is 40 cm (16 in).[2] The mouth protrudes with a concave profile on the snout. The spine in the caudal peduncle has a narrow posterior connection to the body, and the caudal fin is truncate. The body is grey, with around 8 dark grey vertical bars; each bar houses 2 to 3 orange or yellow vertical lines, which break up into spots towards the lower body and on the anal fin. There are 2 dark brown bars on the head, with the first one passing through the eye. There is a dense pattern of small, light yellow spots on the head and body, and a similar pattern of spots arranged in bands can be on the dorsal fin. The caudal fin is marked with pale blue spots. The juveniles have slender grey and yellow bars on the body and 2 black bars on the head.[7]

Zebrasoma desjardinii displaying its soft dorsal and anal fins

Distribution and habitat

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Zebrasoma desjardinii is found in the Indian Ocean. It can be found off the eastern coast of Africa (as south as Sodwana Bay, South Africa[7]), as well as in the Middle East, including off the coasts of Israel, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.[1] It is also found across the islands of the Indian Ocean (such as Sri Lanka, islands in the Andaman Sea, Sumatra, Java,[1] the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island).[8] In 1999, a pair of this species was recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, off Florida, but this was probably due to aquarium release.[9]

Zebrasoma desjardinii is found at depths between 1 and 30 m (3 ft 3 in and 98 ft 5 in)[1] in lagoon and seaward reefs, although the juveniles are more typically found in sheltered areas within reefs.[2]

Behaviour

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Zebrasoma desjardinii adults usually can be found in pairs, while juveniles are solitary.[2] They feed primarily on filamentous algae, macroalgae and plankton, but individuals in the Red Sea have been regularly observed feeding on jellyfish (Scyphozoa) and comb jellies (Ctenophora) as well.[10] This species may form aggregations while feeding on algae; if they do so within the territory of the predatory slingjaw wrasse, the wrasse may darken its colour so as to match the colour of the tangs. The wrasse then joins in the aggregation and mimics their algae-feeding actions while hunting prey.[11]

Zebrasoma desjardinii is a pair spawner; while this is a typical trait of other fish in its genus, group spawning is more common at the family level.[2]

Utilisation

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Zebrasoma desjardinii is used in the aquarium trade.[1]

Bibliography

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  • Sprung, Julian y Delbeek, J.Charles. - The Reef Aquarium. Ricordea Publishing. 1994.
  • Debelius, Helmut y Baensch, Hans A. Atlas Marino. Mergus. 1997.
  • Michael, Scott W. (en inglés) Reef aquarium fishes. Microcosm.T.F.H. 2005.
  • Nilsen, A.J. y Fossa, S.A. - Reef Secrets. TFH Publications .2002.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Abesamis, R.; Choat, J.H.; McIlwain, J.; et al. (2012). "Zebrasoma desjardinii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T178024A1524628. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T178024A1524628.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Zebrasoma desjardinii". FishBase. June 2023 version.
  3. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Zebrasoma". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Species Zebrasoma desjardinii (Bennett, 1836) Indian Sailfin Tang". Australian Faunal Directory. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  5. ^ J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 497–502. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
  6. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (12 January 2021). "Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 2): Families EPHIPPIDAE, LEIOGNATHIDAE, SCATOPHAGIDAE, ANTIGONIIDAE, SIGANIDAE, CAPROIDAE, LUVARIDAE, ZANCLIDAE and ACANTHURIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  7. ^ a b John E. Randall (2022). "Family Acanthuridae". In Phillip C Heemstra; Elaine Heemstra; David A Ebert; Wouter Holleman; John E Randall (eds.). Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean (PDF). Vol. 5. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. pp. 219–244. ISBN 978-1-990951-32-9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-06-12. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  8. ^ Bray, D.J. (2019). "Zebrasoma desjardinii". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 11 Oct 2023.
  9. ^ James A. Morris, Jr. and Pamela J. Schofield (2021). "Zebrasoma desjardinii (Bennett, 1836)". U.S. Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  10. ^ Bos A.R., Cruz-Rivera E. and Sanad A.M. (2016). "Herbivorous fishes Siganus rivulatus (Siganidae) and Zebrasoma desjardinii (Acanthuridae) feed on Ctenophora and Scyphozoa in the Red Sea". Marine Biodiversity. 47: 243–246. doi:10.1007/s12526-016-0454-9.
  11. ^ John E. Randall (2005). "A Review of Mimicry in Marine Fishes" (PDF). Zoological Studies. 44 (3): 299–328.
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