Purple tang
Amazing fact
Purple tang eggs are fertilized in the water and drift with the current.
Oregon Coast Aquarium
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Purple tang eggs are fertilized in the water and drift with the current.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Purple tang
- Scientific name
- Zebrasoma xanthurum
- Japanese name
- パープルタン
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Acanthuridae
- Genus
- Zebrasoma
How the Purple tang lives
During the day, it eats algae growing on the seabed. At sunset, it stops feeding and moves to a shelter near the reef wall. It takes cover among coral colonies and in crevices.
Oregon Coast AquariumBasic data
- Range
- Western Indian Ocean from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf
Where the Purple tang 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
- パープルタン
- 简体中文
- 紫高鳍刺尾鱼
- 繁體中文
- 紫高鰭刺尾魚
- 한국어
- 퍼플 탱
- Español
- Cirujano de cola amarilla
- Français
- Acanthure à Queue Jaune
- Deutsch
- Blauer Segelflossendoktor
- Português (Brasil)
- Cirurgião-de-cauda-amarela
- Italiano
- Pesce chirurgo pinna gialla
- العربية
- جراح أصفر الذيل
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Botana ungu
- Русский
- Зебрасома желтохвостая
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 — パープルタンChecked: 2026-11-04
- Oregon Coast Aquarium — Purple TangChecked: 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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