Acanthurus leucosternon

Acanthurus leucosternon was first formally described in 1833 by the English naturalist Edward Turner Bennett with its type locality given as Sri Lanka.{{Cof genus|genus=Acanthurus|access-date=18 September 2023}} The genus Acanthurus is one of two genera in the tribe Acanthurini which is one of three tribes in the subfamily Acanthurinae which is one of two subfamilies in the family Acanthuridae.{{cite book |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |author1=J. S. Nelson |author2=T. C. Grande |author3=M. V. H. Wilson |year=2016 |pages= 497–502 |publisher=Wiley |isbn= 978-1-118-34233-6 }}

Acanthurus leucosternon has the specific name leucosternon. This combines the Greek words leukos, meaning "white", and sternon, meaning "breast"; this refers to the white chest shown by this species.{{cite web | url = https://etyfish.org/acanthuriformes2/ | title = Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 2): Families EPHIPPIDAE, LEIOGNATHIDAE, SCATOPHAGIDAE, ANTIGONIIDAE, SIGANIDAE, CAPROIDAE, LUVARIDAE, ZANCLIDAE and ACANTHURIDAE | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | editor1= Christopher Scharpf | editor2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp |date = 12 January 2021 | access-date = 7 September 2023 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}

The fish can reach an average size of 23 cm (9 in) in length.{{cite book|last=Lougher|first=Tristan|title=What Fish?: A Buyer's Guide to Marine Fish|year=2006|publisher=Interpet Publishing|isbn=0-7641-3256-3|page=111}} The body has an oval shape and is compressed laterally. Like other surgeonfishes, Acanthurus leucosternon swims with its pectoral fins. The caudal fin has a crescent shape. The fish has a "surgeon's scalpel," an erected part of the spine located at the base of the tail.{{cite web | url=http://www.marinehabitat.co.uk/powder-blue-tang-acanthurus-leucosternon/ | title=Powder Blue Tang – Acanthurus leucosternon | publisher=Fish Junkies Ltd. | work=Marine Habitat magazine | date=1 September 2013 | accessdate=13 February 2014 | author=Clipperton, John | archive-url=https://archive.today/20140214045312/http://www.marinehabitat.co.uk/powder-blue-tang-acanthurus-leucosternon/ | archive-date=14 February 2014 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }} The mouth is small and pointed in a beak-like manner with tiny and sharp teeth for reaching narrow spaces of food. Its sides are blue;{{cite book|author=DK Publishing|title=Animal Life: Secrets of the Animal World Revealed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e-r5zSAx8eoC&pg=PA188|date=17 January 2011|publisher=DK Publishing|isbn=978-0-7566-8886-8|page=188}} its dorsal fin and the base of caudal fin are yellow; the head is black; the mouth, the throat area, the anal and pelvic fins are white.Andreas Vilcinskas, La vie sous-marine des tropiques, Vigot, 2002, 475 p. ({{ISBN|2711415252}}), p. 366 The pectoral fins are transparent with yellow reflections. The intensity of its blue color shows off if the fish is healthy or not.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}}

The fish does not undergo color changes as it matures; as some tangs, surgeonfish and unicornfish do.

Acanthurus leucosternon is found in tropical waters from the Indian Ocean.{{cite web|url=http://eol.org/pages/206882/details |title=Facts about Powder Blue Tang (Acanthurus leucosternon) - Encyclopedia of Life |publisher=Eol.org |date= |accessdate=2014-01-04}} The species inhabits shallow and clear coastal waters always associated with a reef. It prefers flat top reefs and areas along seaward slopes.

File:Maldives Surgeonfish, Acanthurus leucosternon.jpging in the Maldives, Indian Ocean]]

The powder blue tang, like most fish in the family Acanthuridae, is herbivorous, eating mostly benthic algae. Acanthurus leucosternon has a diurnal activity. It is solitary, territorial and aggressive with other surgeonfish. In cases where food is plentiful, it may feed in shoals, but in cases of scarcity, it may compete individually for food. It may use its surgeon's scalpel as a defensive weapon.

The powder blue tang is rarely harvested for anything other than the marine aquarium industry. It is a commonly sold fish that is moderately difficult to care for, although its popularity is easily exceeded by the regal tang and yellow tang.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} They are very prone to Cryptocaryon irritans. They are reef safe and are compatible with most species except other species of fish in the genus Acanthurus.

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite journal|last1=Robertson|first1=Ross|last2=Polunin|first2=Nicholas|last3=Leighton|first3=Kimberley|title=The behavioral ecology of three Indian Ocean surgeonfishes (Acanthurus lineutus, A. leucosternon and Zebrusoma scopes): their feeding strategies, and social and mating systems|journal=Environmental Biology of Fishes|date=1979|volume=4|issue=2|pages=125–170|doi=10.1007/BF00005448|bibcode=1979EnvBF...4..125R }}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060630165911/http://wetwebmedia.com/badacanthurusaq.htm Tang at Wetwebmedia.com]
• [https://www.fishlore.com/profile-powderbluetang.htm Powder Blue Tang]
• [https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=219628 World Register of Marine Species]
• {{SealifePhotos|219628}}

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leucosternon

Category:Fish of the Indian Ocean

Category:Taxa named by Edward Turner Bennett

Category:Fish described in 1833