📸 PhotoPhoto: Tewy · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Palette surgeonfish
Paracanthurus hepatus (Palette surgeonfish · ナンヨウハギ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its average length of 25–31 cm is similar to the long side of an A4 sheet of paper (29.7 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its average weight of 600 g is about 100 g heavier than a 500 mL bottle of water (Comparison).
- 💡 Its popularity as an aquarium fish rose even higher after the release of the movie 'Finding Nemo' (Animal Diversity Web).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The palette surgeonfish is a coral reef fish with a sky-blue body and yellow tail living in warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is very popular as an aquarium fish.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its oval body is vivid sky blue with dark blue lines along the dorsal half, while the pectoral and caudal fins are bright yellow. It has a sharp venomous spine on the caudal peduncle.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It uses its small teeth to graze on algae on rocks and coral and also eats a small amount of plankton. Moving in pairs or small groups, it hides among branching corals when threatened.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2012) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/177972/1507676
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 4CNKK
- • iucnredlist.org — 1507676
- • wikidata.org — Q278307
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Blue tang (Paracanthurus hepatus) 02.jpg
- • animaldiversity.org — Paracanthurus hepatus
- • fishbase.se — Paracanthurus-hepatus.html
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — An Ignorant Atheist · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Acanthuridae)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.