Common Name: Clown Unicornfish

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Pacific Ocean: Japan south to the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia and east to the Hawaiian Islands, French Polynesia and Pitcairn Island. In Australia recorded from Exmouth and the North West Shelf of Western Australia, the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, south to northern New South Wales and including Lord Howe Island.

Ecological Notes: Frequents coral and rubble areas of seaward reefs and lagoons, juveniles in shallow rocky reefs. Depth from 0 – 90 m, usually 5 – 30 m.

Additional Notes: Orange markings on the face and lips, and an orange patch surrounding the scutes on the caudal peduncle. Adults usually in small groups, known to pair when mating. Feed mainly on leafy brown algae, especially Sargassum and Dictyota. Grows to 46 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.434.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=naso+literatus. Accessed 08/06/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/naso-literatus.html. Accessed 08/06/18.