SOLITARY ISLANDS
UNDERWATER
RESEARCH GROUP, INC.

Species Index

Acanthurus triostegus
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Name: Convict Surgeonfish

Distribution: Adults uncommon but juveniles seen in rock pools and shallow coastal waters in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed through the wider Indo-Pacific region. In Australia recorded from central through northern Western Australia, the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland south to central New South Wales. Also at Lord Howe Island, Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs.

Ecological Notes: Often a schooling species on offshore reefs where they feed on filamentous algae. Depth to at least 90m.

Additional Notes: Pale body with five black bands, the first through the eye. Juveniles often found in tidal pools, especially where the pools are subject to freshwater runoff. Juvenile approximately 6cm pictured. Grows to 27cm, commonly 17cm. 

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.429