Naso (genus)

Naso
Temporal range: Eocene to present[1]
Short-nosed unicornfish, N. brevirostris
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Acanthuridae
Genus: Naso
Species

See text

Naso is a genus of fish in the surgeonfish family, Acanthuridae. Fish of this genus are known commonly as unicornfishes because of the "rostral protuberance", a hornlike extension of the forehead present in some species.[2] Unicorn fish are popular with spearfishermen[3] and may be cooked by grilling them whole[4]. Unicornfish primarily live around coral reefs and eat mostly algae[5].

This genus is distributed across the Indo-Pacific from Africa to Hawaii.[6]

Species

The 20 currently recognized species in this genus are:[7]

References

  1. Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  2. Dayton, C. (2001). Genetic evolution among selected members of the genus Naso (Nasinae), "unicornfishes" from Guam. Marine Biology 139(4), 771-76.
  3. Fishing at the tip of the spear in Guam
  4. [https://delishably.com/meat-dishes/Unicorn-Fish-The-Weird-But-Delicious-Fish Unicorn Fish the weird but delicious fish
  5. Reef App encyclopaedia for marine animals
  6. Borden, W. C. (1998). Phylogeny of the unicornfishes (Naso, Acanthuridae) based on soft anatomy. Copeia 1998(1) 104-13.
  7. Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2012). Species of Naso in FishBase. December 2012 version.


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