Genus Acanthurus Forsskål, 1775

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Genus Acanthurus Forsskål, 1775

Acanthurus Forsskål, P. 1775. Descriptiones Animalium Avium, Amphibiorum, Piscium, Insectorum, Vermium; quæ in Itinere Orientali observavit Petrus Forskål. Post Mortem Auctoris edidit Carsten Niebuhr. Adjuncta est Materia Medica Kakirina atque Tabula Maris Rubri Geographica. Hauniæ : Mölleri 1-19, i-xxxiv, 164 pp., 1 map. [ii, 59] [as subgenus of Chaetodon].
Type species:
Chaetodon sohal Forsskål, 1775 by subsequent designation, see Jordan, D.S. 1917. The genera of fishes. Part 1. Stanford University Publications, University Series 27: 1-151 [33].

Introduction

In the interest of stability, we follow Randall (1956) in recognising Chaetodon sohol as designated by Jordan (1917) as the type species of Acanthurus. Whitley (1939) indicated that Desmerest (1856) designated Teuthis hepatus Linnaeus as the type species, which would make Acanthurus a junior syononym of Prionurus as noted by Fricke (2008). However on p ii, Forsskål (1775) indicates Novae Genera - Acanthurus (Chaetodon 89-91). The numbers correspond to the new species Chaetodon unicornis, Chaetodon sohol, Chaetodon nigrofuscus and Chaetodon bifasciatus. Chaetodon unicornis is now placed in Naso and the remaining three in Acanthurus. We can find no evidence that Teuthis hepatus was even mentioned by Forsskål (1775) and could not be designated as the type species, if the genus is accepted from Forsskål (1775). Whitley (1939) did not regard Forsskål (1775) as consistently binomial and suggested Acanthurus should date from Scopoli (1777), which would make the Desmarest designation valid. Most species and genera named by Forsskål (1775) are in use and a change here would have far wider implications.

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications

ACANTHURIDAE: Acanthurus achilles (Shaw, 1803) — Bauchot, M.-L. & Randall, J.E. 1996. Catalogue des types de poissons du Muséum national d'Histoire Naturelle. (Suite). Families des Acanthuridae et des Zanclidae. Cybium 20(1): 55-74 [60] (Australian record based on Acronurus formosus Castelnau, 1873 from Knob Is., Torres Strait, but species is otherwise unknown from Australia; Knob Island is possibly an error for Nob Island, off Cape Grenville, north Queensland, see McCulloch 1918)

ACANTHURIDAE: Acanthurus nigroris Valenciennes, 1835 [restricted to Hawaiian Islands and Johnston Atoll] — Randall, J.E., DiBattista, J.D & Wilcox, C. 2011. Acanthurus nigros Günther, a valid species of surgeonfish, distinct from the Hawaiian A. nigroris Valenciennes. Pacific Science 65(2): 265-275 [265]

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Circumglobal.

IBRA and IMCRA regions (map not available)

IMCRA

Lord Howe Province (14), Northeast Province (18), Northeast Transition (19), Timor Province (2), Cape Province (20), Norfolk Island Province (21), Cocos (Keeling) Island Province (22), Christmas Island Province (23), Northern Shelf Province (25), Northwest Shelf Transition (26), Northwest Shelf Province (27), Central Western Shelf Transition (28), Central Western Shelf Province (29), Northwest Transition (3), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41)