{{Short description|Subfamily of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Acanthurus sohal 334315485.jpg | image_caption = ''Acanthurus sohal'' | image2 = Acanthuridae - Zebrasoma desjardinii.JPG | image2_caption = ''Zebrasoma desjardinii'' | taxon = Acanthurinae | authority = Bonaparte, 1835<ref name = VDLEF>{{cite journal | author1 = Richard van der Laan | author2 = William N. Eschmeyer | author3 = Ronald Fricke | name-list-style = amp |year=2014 | title = Family-group names of recent fishes | url = https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.3882.1.1/10480 | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 3882 | issue = 2 | pages = 1–230| doi = 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 | pmid = 25543675 | doi-access = free }}</ref> | subdivision_ranks = Tribes and genera | subdivision = See text | type_species = Acanthurus triostegus | type_species_authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) }}
'''''Acanthurinae''''' is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Acanthuridae, found in the Indo-Pacific and the tropical Atlantic. These fishes commonly have the English names surgeonfishes or tangs.
==Taxonomy== Acanthurinae is the nominate subfamily of the family Acanthuridae which was proposed by the French zoologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1835.<ref name = VDLEF/> The 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World'' recognises 3 tribes within the subfamily, the Acanthurini, Prionurini and Zebrasomoni. The other subfamily in the Acanthuridae is the monogeneric Nasinae.<ref name = Nelson5>{{cite book |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |author1=J. S. Nelson |author2=T. C. Grande |author3=M. V. H. Wilson |year=2016 |pages=497–502 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 }}</ref>
==Tribes and genera== Acanthurinae is subdivided into the following tribes and genera:<ref name = Nelson5/> {| class="wikitable" |+ !Tribe !Genus !Species !Image |- | rowspan="2" |Acanthurini <small>Bonaparte, 1835</small> |''Acanthurus'' <small>Forsskål 1775</small> |41 |frameless ''A. lineatus'' |- |''Ctenochaetus'' <small>Gill, 1884</small> |9 |frameless ''C. tominiensis'' |- |Prionurini <small>J. L. B. Smith, 1966</small> |''Prionurus'' <small>Lacépède, 1804</small> |7 |frameless ''P. laticlavius'' |- | rowspan="2" |Zebrasomini <small>Winterbottom, 1993</small> |''Paracanthurus'' <small>Bleeker, 1863</small> |1 |frameless ''P. hepatus'' |- |''Zebrasoma'' <small>Swainson, 1839</small> |7 |frameless ''Z. flavescens'' |} ''FishBase'' list 57 species in the subfamily, with ''Acanthurus'' containing 40 species being the most speciose genus.<ref name = Fishbase/>
==Characteristics== [[File:Acanthurus spine peduncle.jpg|thumb|230x230px|''Acanthurus xanthopterus'' tail spine]] Acanthurini surgeonfishes are characterised by having 3 spines in the anal fin. They also have one or more mobile and flexible spine on the caudal peduncle, this spine is not mobile in ''Prionurus'', that may be extended as a defensive weapon. In the tribe Acanthurini this spine is held in a deep slit. They have 5 branchiostegals and they have spatulate teeth in the jaws.<ref name = Nelson5/> The smallest species is the bluebarred surgeonfish (''Acanthurus polyzona'') with a maximum published total length of {{cvt|11|cm}} while the largest species, Fowler's surgeonfish (''A. folweri'') and the powderblue surgeonfish (''A. leucosternon''), both have maximum published total lengths of {{cvt|54|cm}}.<ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase family|family=Acanthurinae|month=June|year=2023}}</ref>
==Distribution== Acanthurinae are mainly found in the Indo-Pacific region but five species in the genus ''Acanthurus'' extend into the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean but they are absent from the Mediterranean.<ref name = Fishbase/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Bibliography== * Joseph S. Nelson: ''Fishes of the World.'' John Wiley & Sons, 2006, {{ISBN|0-471-25031-7}} * André Luty: ''Doktorfische - Lebensweise - Pflege - Arten.'' Dähne Verlag, Ettlingen 1999, {{ISBN|3-921684-61-7}} * Andreas Vilcinskas: ''Meerestiere der Tropen'', Franckh-Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, {{ISBN|3-440-07943-0}} * Helmut Debelius und Rudie H. Kuiter: ''Doktorfische und ihre Verwandten.'' Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 2002, {{ISBN|3-8001-3669-4}}
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Category:Acanthuridae Category:Actinopterygii subfamilies