Author: Steindachner, 1876
Acanthurus monroviae Steindachner, 1876
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Acanthurus monroviae Steindachner, 1876 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body deep and compressed, with a single spine on each side of caudal peduncle; dorsal head profile steep. Eye high on head, mouth low and terminal, small; small incisor-like teeth in jaws; gillrakers 10-12. Pelvic fins below pectoral fin base, with I + 5 finrays, dorsal fin with IX + 24-27 finrays (spines increasing in length), anal fin with III + 23-26 finrays. Scales small and rough (ctenoid), covering body and parts of head and bases of vertical fins; about 125 scales in lateral line. Colour: body dark brown with fine undulating darker lines along flanks; a white oval (juvenile) or round (adult) patch around spine on caudal peduncle; dorsal and anal fins dark brown, with 4-5 clearer horizontal lines on soft portions; margin of caudal fin clear. Size: to 42 cm SL, usually 20-30 cm.
Habitat: inshore waters and lagoons. Food: browsing on all encrusting organisms of rocky areas. Reproduction: no data; presumably has the normal acronurus larval stage.
Distribution: coast of Morocco. Elsewhere, southward to Angola.
Complementary iconography. Cadenat, 1951, fig. 176
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Breder, 1928: 72, fig. 31 | Poll, 1959: 240 | Bauchot, 1966: 30, fig. 5.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.