Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Acanthurus nigricans
cirujano cariblanco, pez cirugano de filo amarillo., cirujano de borde dorado, cirugano cariblanco., Gold rimmed surgeonfish, goldrim surgeonfish
Dark blue; white tail. White blotch below eye. Single yellow spine on base of tail. Length: up to 14 cm
Habitat: hard substrata in protected and seaward reefs
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Teleostei
Order
Acanthuriformes
Suborder
Acanthuroidei
Family
Acanthuridae
Genus
Acanthurus
Species
nigricans
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Acanthurus aliala Lesson, 183, Acanthurus glaucoparecius Cuvier, 1829 (misspelling), Acanthurus glaucopareius Cuvier, 1829, Chaetodon nigricans Linnaeus, 1758, Hepatus aliala (Horton et al., 2021).
Origin: Native
Distribution: Indo-Pacific; From California and Ecuador also tropical Pacific. Eastern Indian Ocean and the tropical Pacific, mainly at Islands, tip of Baja California to SW Gulf of California, Southern Mexico, Costa Rica to Ecuador in Galápagos islands and all the offshore islands
- Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
- Banks, S. Vera, M. & Chiriboga, A. (2009) Establishing Reference Points to Assess Long-Term Change in Zooxanthellate Coral Communities of the Northern Galapagos Coral Reefs. J. Sci. Conserv. in the Galapagos Islands, p. 43-64.
- Edgar, G.J. Fariña, J.M., Calvopiña, M., Martínez, C. & Banks, S. (2002) Comunidades submareales rocosas II: Peces y macroinvertebrados móviles. In: Danulat, E. & Edgar, G.J. (eds.) (2002): Reserva Marina de Galápagos. Línea Base de la Biodiversidad. Fundación Charles Darwin/Servicio Parque Nacional Galápagos, Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador, p. 68-97.
- Froese, R. D. Pauly. Eds. (2021) FishBase World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org,
- Grove, J.S. Lavenberg, R.J. (1997) The Fishes of the Galapagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. 862 pp.
- Horton, T. Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S., Bailly, N., Boyko, C. B., Brandão, S. N., Gofas, S., Hooper, J. N. A., Hernandez, F., Holovachov, O., Mees, J., Molodtsova, T. N., Paulay, G., Decock, W., Dekeyzer, S., Poffyn, G., Vandepitte, L., Vanhoorne, B., Adlard, R., ... Zhao, Z. (2021) World Register of Marine Species. Available from https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ.
- Humann, P. Deloach, N. (2003) Reef Fish Identification - Galapagos. New World Publication, Inc. Florida USA & Libri Mundi, Quito, Ecuador, 226 pp.
- IUCN (2023) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2 Https://www.iucnredlist.org
- McCosker, J.E. Rosenblatt, R.H. (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sc., Ser. 4, vol. 61, Suppl. II, no. 11: 167-195.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Acanthurus nigricans", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7676. Accessed 17 June 2026.