Tangs and Surgeonfish Codexery

Naso elegans

A herbivorous surgeonfish found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.

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Naso elegans

Diego Delso · via Wikipedia: Naso elegans · CC BY-SA 4.0

Naso elegans is a marine fish species in the family Acanthuridae, order Acanthuriformes.[1] In 1829, German explorer and zoologist Eduard Rüppell originally described this species under the name Aspisurus elegans, designating the northern Red Sea as the type locality.[2] The Latin word elegans translates to "choice", "fine", or "select", which alludes to the fish's vibrant coloration.[3]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassActinopterygii
  4. DivisionTeleostei
  5. OrderAcanthuriformes
  6. FamilyAcanthuridae
  7. GenusNaso
  8. GenusNaso
  9. SpeciesNaso elegans

Named by (Rüppell, 1829)

Close relatives

Other species of Naso with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Naso elegans (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 278005 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

  1. LC▲ this species
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2012

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Naso elegans and a personA 0.45 m long naso elegans drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.45 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.45 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Naso elegans

Where the naso elegans has been recorded

Where the naso elegans has been recorded101 mapped locations from 1,983 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Red Sea, Christmas IslandRed SeaChristmas Island

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (1,983 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 7 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 2 isolated far-off records not drawn.

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Biology and range

While the maximum recorded total length reaches 45 cm, a length of 35 cm is more commonly observed.[4]

What the specialist sources record

The Fishes of Australia account notes that males have larger caudal spines and longer filaments on the caudal fin compared with females.[5] The same source records the species at the Australian territories of Christmas Island and Cocos-Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean.[5] The World Register of Marine Species lists the species as accepted in the family Acanthuridae, order Acanthuriformes.[1] GBIF holds 2,041 occurrence records for this taxon as of 7 October 2026.[6]

References

  1. World Register of Marine Species, Naso elegans (AphiaID 278005). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Naso elegans" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 2): Families EPHIPPIDAE, LEIOGNATHIDAE, SCATOPHAGIDAE, ANTIGONIIDAE, SIGANIDAE, CAPROIDAE, LUVARIDAE, ZANCLIDAE and ACANTHURIDAE", The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database, 12 January; "Fishes of the World", Wiley, 2016, p. 497–502; John E. Randall, "Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean", South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, 2022, p. 219–244 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Naso elegans" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 2): Families EPHIPPIDAE, LEIOGNATHIDAE, SCATOPHAGIDAE, ANTIGONIIDAE, SIGANIDAE, CAPROIDAE, LUVARIDAE, ZANCLIDAE and ACANTHURIDAE", The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database, 12 January (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Naso elegans" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Dianne J. Bray, "Naso elegans", Fishes of Australia. facts only, no text reused. fishesofaustralia.net.au
  6. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Naso elegans (taxon key 5209095). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Naso elegans (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Same family (Acanthuridae)

Ctenochaetus binotatus Ctenochaetus binotatusCtenochaetus flavicauda Ctenochaetus flavicaudaCtenochaetus hawaiiensis Ctenochaetus hawaiiensisCtenochaetus marginatus Ctenochaetus marginatus

Named in this entry

Naso (fish)

More in Tangs and Surgeonfish

Sleek unicornfishNaso lituratusNaso lopeziNaso maculatusNaso minorReticulate unicornfishSquarenose unicornfishNaso thynnoidesNaso tonganusNaso tuberosusNaso vlamingiiAcanthuridae

Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. To which biological family does the Naso elegans belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Acanthuridae.

2. Who first scientifically described the Naso elegans?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Eduard Rüppell.

3. In what year was Naso elegans first scientifically described?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1829.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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