Paracanthurus
Paracanthurus hepatus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Paracanthurus (Paracanthurus hepatus) is a bony fish in the family Acanthuridae, order Acanthuriformes. It is also called Dory, Dory tang, Blue tang, Doctorfish and Hippo tang.
_02.jpg){kind=link}
Quick facts about the paracanthurus
The species was named by (Linnaeus, 1766) and belongs to the class Teleostei and the genus Paracanthurus. Its global IUCN Red List category is Least Concern (LC), which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the paracanthurus
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
.jpg){kind=link}
Where does the paracanthurus live?
Not recorded
What is the paracanthurus?
Paracanthurus hepatus is a species of Indo-Pacific surgeonfish. A popular fish in marine aquaria, it is the only member of the genus Paracanthurus.
A number of common names are attributed to the species, including palette surgeonfish, blue surgeonfish, blue tang (leading to confusion with the Atlantic species Acanthurus coeruleus), flagtail surgeonfish, hepatus tang, Indo-Pacific bluetang, regal blue surgeonfish, wedge-tailed tang, wedgetail blue tang, royal blue tang, hippo tang, blue hippo tang, regal tang, and regal blue tang.
It is most closely related to genus Zebrasoma, with which it forms a sister group.
From the Wikipedia article “Paracanthurus” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paracanthurus&oldid=1381207776), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the paracanthurus endangered?
The paracanthurus is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the paracanthurus classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderAcanthuriformes
- familyAcanthuridae
- genusParacanthurus
- SpeciesParacanthurus hepatus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms Acanthurus hepatus, Acanthurus teuthis, Acanthurus theuthis, Acanthurus triangulus, Acronurus carneus, Acronurus fuscus, Paracanthurus theuthis, Teuthis hepatus
Other names and names in other languages (68)
- Blue hippo tangEnglish
- Blue surgeonEnglish
- Blue surgeonfishEnglish
- Blue surgeonfishEnglish
- Blue tangEnglish
- Blue tangEnglish
- Common surgeonEnglish
- DoctorfishEnglish
- DoryEnglish
- DoryEnglish
- Dory surgeonfishEnglish
- Dory tangEnglish
- Flag-tail surgeon-fishEnglish
- Flagtail surgeonfishEnglish
- Flagtail surgeonfishEnglish
- Hepatus tangEnglish
- Hepatus tangEnglish
- Hippo surgeonfishEnglish
- Hippo tangEnglish
- Indo-Pacific bluetangEnglish
- Indo-Pacific bluetangEnglish
- Pacific regal blue tangEnglish
- Palette surgeonfishEnglish
- Palette surgeonfishEnglish
- Palette tangEnglish
- Regal blue surgeonfishEnglish
- Regal blue surgeonfishEnglish
- Regal blue tangEnglish
- Regal tangEnglish
- Royal blue tangEnglish
- Wedge-tailed tangEnglish
- Wedge-tailed tangEnglish
- Wedgetail blue tangEnglish
- Wedgetail blue tangEnglish
- Wedgetailed blue tangEnglish
- Palet-doktervisAfrikaans
- Peix cirurgià blau reialCatalan
- 剥皮鱼Chinese
- bodlok pestrýCzech
- PaletkirurgfiskDanish
- Paletten-DoktorfischGerman
- Cirujano realSpanish
- Pez cirujano azulSpanish
- Pez Cirujano RegalSpanish
- Kuninglik kirurgkalaEstonian
- Chirurgien BleuFrench
- Chirurgien-paletteFrench
- Plavi TangCroatian
- pesce chirurgo tavolozzaItalian
- ナンヨウハギJapanese
- NanyôhagiJapanese
- DebamMalay
- Debam biruMalay
- DengkisMalay
- PicassodoktersvisDutch
- Pokolec królewskiPolish
- BarbeiroPortuguese
- Acaraúna-pretaPortuguese
- CirurgiãoPortuguese
- Cirurgião-patelaPortuguese
- Голубой хирургRussian
- PalettkirurgfiskSwedish
- ปลาขี้ตังเบ็ดน้ำเงินThai
- Jilaroot
- Chankatayanroot
- Leter enamroot
- Leter enam kecilroot
- 擬刺尾鯛 (藍倒吊 黃尾副刺尾魚)Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the paracanthurus
Other species in the same genus Paracanthurus.
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is Paracanthurus?
Paracanthurus is a bony fish in the family Acanthuridae and the order Acanthuriformes.
What is the scientific name of Paracanthurus?
Its scientific name is Paracanthurus hepatus, in the genus Paracanthurus.
What other names does Paracanthurus hepatus have?
It is also called Dory, Dory tang, Blue tang, Doctorfish and Hippo tang.
Is Paracanthurus endangered?
No. Its global IUCN Red List category is Least Concern (LC), which is not an IUCN threatened category.
Who named Paracanthurus hepatus and when?
The scientific name authority is (Linnaeus, 1766).
What family does Paracanthurus belong to?
It belongs to the family Acanthuridae, in the class Teleostei.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Paracanthurus (Paracanthurus hepatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/paracanthurus
“Paracanthurus (Paracanthurus hepatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/paracanthurus.
@misc{paracanthurus_2026,
title = {Paracanthurus (Paracanthurus hepatus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/paracanthurus},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}