bluespine unicornfish

The bluespine unicornfish was first formally described as Chaetodon unicornis by the Swedish-speaking Finnish explorer, orientalist, naturalist, and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus Peter Forsskål with its type locality given as Jeddah. In 1801 the French zoologist Bernard Germain de Lacépède described a new species Naso fronticornis as a replacement name for Chaetodon unicornis, which, in 1917 David Starr Jordan designated as the type species of the genus Naso, which had first been proposed as a genus by Lacépède when he described N. fronticornis.{{Cof family|family=Acanthuridae|access-date=29 July 2023}} Naso is the only genus in the monogeneric subfamily Nasinae, proposed by Henry Weed Fowler and Barton Appler Bean in 1929{{cite journal | author1 = Richard van der Laan | author2 = William N. Eschmeyer | author3 = Ronald Fricke | name-list-style = amp |year=2014 | title = Family-group names of recent fishes | url = https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.3882.1.1/10480 | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 3882 | issue = 2 | pages = 1–230| doi = 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 | pmid = 25543675 | doi-access = free }} within 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 |url=https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/ |access-date=2023-07-29 |archive-date=2019-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408194051/https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/ |url-status=dead }}

The bluespine unicornfish has a blueish-gray body with two blue spines on each side at the base of the tail and a short rostrum or bony horn on the forehead.{{Cite web|last=Bray|first=D.J.|date=2019|title=Naso unicornis in Fishes of Australia|url=https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2201#summary|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501124310/http://fishesofaustralia.net.au:80/home/species/2201 |archive-date=2017-05-01 }} In small fish the horn is missing. The species is sexually dimorphic, with males having much larger tail spines than females. Males on average also have slightly longer horns and slightly longer tail streamers than females.{{Cite journal |last=DeMartini |first=Edward E. |date=2016-06-14 |title=Sexual Dimorphisms in the Bluespine Unicornfish, Naso unicornis (Acanthuridae): External Metrics for Movement Ecology and Life History |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/10.1643/CE-15-270 |journal=Copeia |language=en |volume=104 |issue=2 |pages=498–505 |doi=10.1643/CE-15-270 |issn=0045-8511|url-access=subscription }}

These fish have a leather-like skin instead of scales. The bluespine unicornfish can grow up to {{cvt|70|cm}} with the largest one caught to be {{cvt|5.8|kg}}.{{Cite web|last=Animal-World|title=Bluespine Unicornfish|url=https://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/tangs/unicornis.php|access-date=2021-12-15|website=Animal World|language=en-us}}{{Cite web|title=Bluespine Unicornfish|url=https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/animal/bluespine-unicornfish/|access-date=2021-12-15|website=Georgia Aquarium|language=en-US}}

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| image1 = Bluespine Unicornfish, Emily Bay, Kingston 2899, Norfolk Island imported from iNaturalist photo 198745244 (cropped).jpg

| image2 = Bluespine Unicornfish, Kingston, Norfolk Island imported from iNaturalist photo 120509443 (cropped).jpg

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| caption1 = Juveniles

| caption2 = Adult

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The bluespine unicornfish is very common in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, usually occurring at temperatures between {{cvt|25|and|29|°C}}.

File:Bluespine Unicornfish, Marsa Alam, Red Sea Governorate, Egitto imported from iNaturalist photo 247245497.jpg]]

The bluespine unicornfish are a near-shore fish. The juvenile tend to stay close to shore while the adults tend to live from shallow to the beginnings of the deep water staying within the upper 40 feet.

They tend to enjoy spots with waves or strong surges.{{Cite web|title=Unicornfish|url=https://thisfish.info/fishery/species/unicornfish/|access-date=2021-12-15|website=thisfish.info|archive-date=2021-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202210650/https://thisfish.info/fishery/species/unicornfish/|url-status=dead}} The bluespine unicornfish live often solitary on coral reefs or can be found in small schools of unicorn fish or as a part of larger schools with many other fish species.{{Cite journal |last1=Bierwagen |first1=Stacy L. |last2=Price |first2=Donald K. |last3=Pack |first3=Adam A. |last4=Meyer |first4=Carl G. |date=January 2017 |title=Bluespine unicornfish (Naso unicornis) are both natural control agents and mobile vectors for invasive algae in a Hawaiian Marine Reserve |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00227-016-3049-x |journal=Marine Biology |language=en |volume=164 |issue=1 |page=25 |doi=10.1007/s00227-016-3049-x |bibcode=2017MarBi.164...25B |issn=0025-3162|url-access=subscription }}

Bluespine unicornfish are herbivores and feed on brown and red algae with coarse or leafy blades. Because it is one of a small number of species that consumes fleshy macroalgae (seaweed), it is of great importance to coral reef ecosystems.{{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Brett M. |date=2019-07-03 |title=Standing Out in a Big Crowd: High Cultural and Economic Value of Naso unicornis in the Insular Pacific |journal=Fishes |language=en |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=40 |doi=10.3390/fishes4030040 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019Fishe...4...40T |issn=2410-3888 }}

Bluespine unicornfish have been recorded eating invasive algae species, such as Gracilaria salicornia. This alga has become well established in reefs throughout the Hawaiian island of Oahu and is of concern because of its tendency to form dense, overgrown mats on and around corals that prevent nutrient acquisition. G. salicornia reproduces through fragmentation. The bluespine unicornfish feeds on G. salicornia which both helps reduce the size of the alga on reefs but also contributes to its spread as the fragments found in the fishes' feces are viable and can grow into new algal mats.

File:Bluespine Unicornfish, Avera, Rurutu, Polynésie française imported from iNaturalist photo 120201705.jpg, French Polynesia]]

File:Bluespine Unicornfish, Aquarium Pyramid, Galveston, TX, US imported from iNaturalist photo 203326051.jpg, Texas]]

Bluespine unicornfish are eaten in abundance due to how common they are. They are caught using nets, hook and line techniques, and by nighttime spearfishing. They have a strong flavor and odor due to their diet. When skinned, the meat is white with a slight pink-red taint and a firm or moist texture. Bluespine unicornfish are usually eaten raw, boiled, grilled, baked or sauteed.{{Cite book|last=Titcomb|first=Margaret|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aj6soKpGouwC&dq=kala+lolo&pg=PA85|title=Native Use of Fish in Hawaii|date=1972-11-01|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-0592-0|language=en}}

The kala, the Hawaiian name for Naso unicornis and two other Naso species, was an important food source in pre-colonial Hawaii. The tough skin of kala was sometimes stretched over a half coconut shell to make a small knee drum. The Hawaiians also used kala in ceremonies between members of a tribe or between tribes. Today kala is still a common food source to the people of Hawaii and other Pacific Islands.

A commercial kala fishing permit is required by the Hawaiian Department of Land and Natural Resources; the daily take of kala is limited to four fish per person per day. {{As of|2024|March}}annual catch limit for the commercial kala fishery is 15,000 pounds, with the count beginning on August 1 of each year.

The bluespine unicornfish is frequently found on postage stamps, as company logos, school mascots, and as a motif in indigenous artwork.

File:Naso unicornis New Caledonia.jpg|Naso unicornis from New Caledonia

File:Bluespine unicornfish green island.jpg|A pair of bluespine unicornfish in a shallow water coral reef area of Green Island, a coral reef ecosystem reserve in Taiwan

File:Bluespine Unicornfish, Slaughter Bay, Kingston 2899, Norfolk Island imported from iNaturalist photo 220084179.jpg|Norfolk Island

File:Bluespine Unicornfish, Kingston, Norfolk Island imported from iNaturalist photo 120509513.jpg|Norfolk Island

File:Bluespine Unicornfish, Norfolk Island imported from iNaturalist photo 169682909.jpg|Front view with a multispine damselfish, Norfolk Island

File:Bluespine Unicornfish, Emily Bay, Kingston 2899, Norfolk Island imported from iNaturalist photo 409535527.jpg|Two differently coloured individuals, Norfolk Island

{{Reflist}}

• {{FishBase | genus = Naso | species = unicornis| month = December| year = 2008}}

{{Commons category|Naso unicornis}}

• {{SealifePhotos|219668}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q882942}}

Category:Naso (fish)

Category:Fish of Hawaii

Category:Fish of the Pacific Ocean

Category:Fish of the Indian Ocean

Category:Fish of Palau

Category:Fish described in 1775

Category:Taxa named by Peter Forsskål