Convict surgeonfish
Amazing fact
Convict surgeonfish have been observed playing dead in the wild.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Convict surgeonfish have been observed playing dead in the wild.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Convict surgeonfish
- Scientific name
- Acanthurus triostegus
- Japanese name
- シマハギ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Acanthuridae
- Genus
- Acanthurus
It lives from Hachijo Island, the Ogasawara Islands and Chiba down to the Ryukyu Islands, and in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
How the Convict surgeonfish lives
They live on coral reefs, as well as in tidepools and shallow coastal waters with little current. With slightly downward-facing mouths and flexible, comb-like teeth, they graze on algae on rocks and corals. They are often seen in schools, but can also be found alone.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Range
- Indo-Pacific, and elsewhere
Where the Convict surgeonfish 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
- シマハギ
- 简体中文
- 横带刺尾鱼
- 繁體中文
- 綠刺尾鯛
- Español
- Manini
- Français
- Chirurgien à Raies Noires
- Deutsch
- Sträflings-Doktorfisch
- Português (Brasil)
- Cirurgião-convicto
- Italiano
- Pesce chirurgo zebra
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Botana liris
- Русский
- Полосатый хирург
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 — シマハギChecked: 2026-11-04
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Acanthurus triostegusChecked: 2026-11-06
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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