Common Name: Brown Tang

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region: from East Africa, including the Mascarene Islands to the Tuamoto Islands, north to southern Japan, south to Lord Howe and Rapa islands. In Australia recorded from around Geraldton in Western Australia, through the tropical north to the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, south to central New South Wales, and including Lord Howe Island.

Ecological Notes: Frequents coral-rich areas of lagoon and seaward reefs. Depth 1 – 60 m.

Additional Notes: Disc shaped with long snout and long dorsal and anal fins, has single white scute at tail base. Intermediate phase pictured at top, juvenile around 60 mm long in lower photograph. Feeds on benthic alga. Grows to 40 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.437.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Zebrasoma+scopas. Accessed 12/07/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Zebrasoma-scopas.html. Accessed 12/07/18.