Scalpel sawtail
Amazing fact
Scalpel sawtail larvae are diamond-shaped, with long dorsal- and anal-fin spines.
東京都島しょ農林水産総合センター
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Scalpel sawtail larvae are diamond-shaped, with long dorsal- and anal-fin spines.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Scalpel sawtail
- Scientific name
- Prionurus scalprum
- Japanese name
- ニザダイ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Acanthuridae
- Genus
- Prionurus
Where the name “Scalpel sawtail” comes from
Its English name refers to a tail that is sharp like a scalpel and resembles saw teeth.
男鹿水族館GAOIt lives in Japanese seas from Aomori to the Ryukyu Islands, and off the southern Korean Peninsula, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
How the Scalpel sawtail lives
The eggs hatch while floating at the water surface. The larvae are thought to spread to new areas by drifting with ocean currents. As it grows, it moves closer to shore and eventually settles on rocky reefs. It swims between rocks and pecks at the surfaces of rocks and seaweed.
東京都島しょ農林水産総合センターBasic data
- Range
- Izu Islands, Ogasawara Islands, Ryukyu Islands, southern Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Paracel Islands, and elsewhere
Where the Scalpel sawtail has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ニザダイ
- 简体中文
- 多板盾尾鱼
- 繁體中文
- 鋸尾鯛
- 한국어
- 쥐돔
- Español
- Pez Cirujano de Escalpelo
- Português (Brasil)
- Cirurgião-serra-japonês
- Italiano
- Pesce chirurgo coda di ghiaccio
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — ニザダイChecked: 2026-11-04
- 男鹿水族館GAO — ニザダイChecked: 2026-11-07
- 東京都島しょ農林水産総合センター — ニザダイChecked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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