Zebrasoma flavescensLemon sailfin(Also: Somber surgeonfish; Yellow sailfin tang; Yellow tang)

Ge­o­graphic Range

Yel­low tangs, Ze­bra­soma flavescens, are reef fish found in the wa­ters west of Hawaii and east of Japan in the Pa­cific Ocean. They mainly live off the coast of Hawaii, but are also found in the more west­ern ranges of their habi­tat, in­clud­ing the is­lands Ryukyu, Mar­i­ana, Mar­shall, Mar­cus, and Wake. They pre­fer sub­trop­i­cal wa­ters. (Ag­bayani, 2008; Waikïkï Aquar­ium, 1999)

Habi­tat

Yel­low tangs are reef-as­so­ci­ated fish. Their pre­ferred water tem­per­a­ture is around 21 de­grees Cel­sius. They in­habit coral reefs in sub­trop­i­cal wa­ters, but gen­er­ally do not live in trop­i­cal seas. Yel­low tangs mainly live in the sub-surge zone of a coral reef, this is the area with the least wave ac­tion. Ze­bra­soma flavescens live at depths of 2 to 46 me­ters. The clear larva of yel­low tangs de­velop into ma­rine plank­ton, in this stage they are car­ried close to reefs where they set­tle in coral crevices. (Ag­bayani, 2008; Ogawa and Brown, 2001; Reynolds and Cast­er­lin, 1980; Waikïkï Aquar­ium, 1999)

  • Aquatic Biomes
  • reef
  • Range depth
    2 to 46 m
    6.56 to 150.92 ft

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Yel­low tangs have a clear lar­val stage be­fore de­vel­op­ing into ju­ve­niles. Ju­ve­niles and adults have a nar­row, oval body. They have an av­er­age length-weight ratio be­tween 2.93 and 3.16. They have a long snout for eat­ing algae, a large dor­sal fin with four to five spines, and an anal fin with three spines. Like other sur­geon­fish and tangs (Acan­thuri­dae), yel­low tangs have a white, scalpel-like spine on both sides of the tail that can be used for de­fense or ag­gres­sion. Yel­low tangs are named for their bright yel­low col­or­ing; the only area that is not yel­low is the white spine. At night, this bright yel­low color changes to a darker, grayer yel­low with a white lat­eral line. (Ag­bayani, 2008; Froese, 1998; Guiasu and Win­ter­bot­tom, 1998; Waikïkï Aquar­ium, 1999; Wood, 2008)

  • Sexual Dimorphism
  • sexes alike
  • Range length
    20 (high) cm
    7.87 (high) in

De­vel­op­ment

Yel­low tangs begin their lives as fer­til­ized eggs float­ing in open water. After hatch­ing, the clear, pelagic lar­vae de­velop in the plank­ton. They enter the acronu­rus larva stage where they de­velop an oval body, dor­sal and ven­tral fins, and spines. After about ten weeks, they enter a plank­tonic stage. Here, waves carry them to a coral reef where they take refuge and con­tinue to de­velop and grow. (Brough and Brough, 2008; Sale, et al., 1984; Waikïkï Aquar­ium, 1999; Wood, 2008)

Re­pro­duc­tion

Ze­bra­soma flavescens can spawn in groups or in pairs. When in groups, fe­males re­lease eggs and males re­lease sperm into open water where fer­til­iza­tion oc­curs. When in pairs, the male courts a fe­male by chang­ing col­ors and ex­hibit­ing a shim­mer­ing move­ment. The two fish then swim up­ward and si­mul­ta­ne­ously re­lease their eggs or sperm into the water. Males may spawn with mul­ti­ple fe­males in one ses­sion, while fe­males typ­i­cally spawn only once a month. (Brough and Brough, 2008; Waikïkï Aquar­ium, 1999; Wood, 2008)

Yel­low tangs re­pro­duce ex­ter­nally. Their spawn­ing peaks from March to Sep­tem­ber, but some fish spawn at all times through­out the year. An av­er­age fe­male can re­lease about 40,000 eggs. (Ag­bayani, 2008; De­troit Zo­o­log­i­cal So­ci­ety, 2008; Lobel, 1989)

  • Breeding interval
    Females spawn about once a month
  • Breeding season
    Breeding occurs year-round, but more often from March to September
  • Range number of offspring
    40,000 (high)

There is no parental in­vest­ment in yel­low tangs be­yond the fer­til­iza­tion of eggs.

  • Parental Investment
  • no parental involvement
  • pre-fertilization
    • provisioning
    • protecting
      • female

Lifes­pan/Longevity

Not much is known about the lifes­pan of yel­low tangs. How­ever, some sources have found them liv­ing up to about 30 years on the reef and 10 years in cap­tiv­ity. (Dodds, 2007; Par­rish and Claisse, 2005)

  • Range lifespan
    Status: wild
    30 (high) years
  • Range lifespan
    Status: captivity
    10 (high) years

Be­hav­ior

Ju­ve­nile yel­low tangs are often ter­ri­to­r­ial. This trait usu­ally di­min­ishes as the fish ma­ture and start to roam wider areas of the reef. Adult tangs live singly or in small, loose groups. These groups some­times con­tain other species of fish, like sail­fin tang (Ze­bra­soma veliferum). Yel­low tangs are di­ur­nal. Dur­ing the day, tangs move from place to place, graz­ing on algae; at night, they gen­er­ally rest alone in coral reef crevices. (Ag­bayani, 2008; Atkins, 1981; Brough and Brough, 2008; Wood, 2008)

Home Range

When they are ju­ve­niles, yel­low tangs have small home ranges that they de­fend, often stay­ing within a few me­ters of one area. Not much is known about the home ranges of adult yel­low tangs. (Par­rish and Claisse, 2005)

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

When mat­ing, males change col­ors and ex­hibit a shim­mer­ing move­ment to at­tract fe­males. In de­fense or ag­gres­sion, yel­low tangs ex­tend their fins to full length, greatly in­creas­ing their size. They also ex­pose their scalpel-like scales on their fins as a warn­ing sign. They use these not only to de­fend them­selves from preda­tors, but also to scare away com­peti­tors for food or ter­ri­tory. (Brough and Brough, 2008; Waikïkï Aquar­ium, 1999)

Food Habits

Yel­low tangs have a long, down-turned mouth with small teeth that are spe­cial­ized for graz­ing on algae. Be­cause they are mainly her­bi­vores, they spend a large amount of their time graz­ing ei­ther alone or in groups. A large por­tion of their diet con­sists of un­cal­ci­fied and fil­a­men­tous algae that grows on coral reefs. In ad­di­tion to smaller types of algae, yel­low tangs feed on macroal­gae, such as sea­weed. Yel­low tangs will also eat some types of zoo­plank­ton. (Guiasu and Win­ter­bot­tom, 1998; Waikïkï Aquar­ium, 1999; Wylie and Paul, 1988)

Pre­da­tion

Preda­tors of Ze­bra­soma flavescens in­clude larger fish and preda­tory in­ver­te­brates such as crabs and oc­topi. Yel­low tangs rely on cam­ou­flage and their scalpel-like fins to pro­tect them­selves. To hu­mans, these fish ap­pear bright yel­low, but, to other fish, yel­low tangs blend in very well with coral reef back­grounds. Ac­cord­ing to Mar­shall et al. (2003) wave­length dif­fer­ences be­tween yel­low and av­er­age reef color be­come neg­li­gi­ble at the depths where yel­low tangs are found. In ad­di­tion to cam­ou­flage, Ze­bra­soma flavescens use their scalpel-like fins for de­fense. (Barry and Hawryshyn, 1999; De­troit Zo­o­log­i­cal So­ci­ety, 2008; Mar­shall, et al., 2003; Waikïkï Aquar­ium, 1999)

  • Anti-predator Adaptations
  • cryptic

Ecosys­tem Roles

Yel­low tangs, along with other algae feed­ers, are cru­cial parts of coral reef ecosys­tems. They feed on algae and sea­weed that grow on the reefs, pre­vent­ing them from over­grow­ing and killing corals. Yel­low tangs are also a food source for larger fish and in­ver­te­brates. (De­troit Zo­o­log­i­cal So­ci­ety, 2008; Waikïkï Aquar­ium, 1999)

Mu­tu­al­ist Species

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Yel­low tangs are im­por­tant for tourism and the aquar­ium trade. Their bright yel­low color is well rec­og­nized by scuba divers and other tourists on Hawai­ian reefs. They are also a valu­able re­source in aquar­ium trade; they are the num­ber one col­lected fish for ex­port out of Hawaii. Their col­or­ing, har­di­ness, and low cost all at­tribute to their pop­u­lar­ity in ma­rine aquar­i­ums, mak­ing them one of the ten most pop­u­lar fish. (Brough and Brough, 2008; Ogawa and Brown, 2001; Waikïkï Aquar­ium, 1999)

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

Yel­low tangs, along with other sur­geon­fish (Acan­thuri­dae), are not gen­er­ally dan­ger­ous. When they are young, they pos­sess venom glands. As they age into ju­ve­niles and adults, they lose these glands. If yel­low tangs are pro­voked, they can in­flict deep in­juries with the sharp blades on their tails. (Ag­bayani, 2008; Waikïkï Aquar­ium, 1999)

  • Negative Impacts
  • injures humans

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Ze­bra­soma flavescens is not a threat­ened or en­dan­gered species.

Con­trib­u­tors

Tanya Dewey (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Kara Za­betakis (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Mary­land, Bal­ti­more County, Kevin Om­land (ed­i­tor, in­struc­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Mary­land, Bal­ti­more County.

Glossary

Pacific Ocean

body of water between the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), Australia, Asia, and the western hemisphere. This is the world's largest ocean, covering about 28% of the world's surface.

World Map

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

cryptic

having markings, coloration, shapes, or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment; being difficult to see or otherwise detect.

diurnal
  1. active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
ecotourism

humans benefit economically by promoting tourism that focuses on the appreciation of natural areas or animals. Ecotourism implies that there are existing programs that profit from the appreciation of natural areas or animals.

ectothermic

animals which must use heat acquired from the environment and behavioral adaptations to regulate body temperature

external fertilization

fertilization takes place outside the female's body

fertilization

union of egg and spermatozoan

herbivore

An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.

heterothermic

having a body temperature that fluctuates with that of the immediate environment; having no mechanism or a poorly developed mechanism for regulating internal body temperature.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

macroalgae

seaweed. Algae that are large and photosynthetic.

metamorphosis

A large change in the shape or structure of an animal that happens as the animal grows. In insects, "incomplete metamorphosis" is when young animals are similar to adults and change gradually into the adult form, and "complete metamorphosis" is when there is a profound change between larval and adult forms. Butterflies have complete metamorphosis, grasshoppers have incomplete metamorphosis.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

natatorial

specialized for swimming

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

pet trade

the business of buying and selling animals for people to keep in their homes as pets.

polygynandrous

the kind of polygamy in which a female pairs with several males, each of which also pairs with several different females.

reef

structure produced by the calcium carbonate skeletons of coral polyps (Class Anthozoa). Coral reefs are found in warm, shallow oceans with low nutrient availability. They form the basis for rich communities of other invertebrates, plants, fish, and protists. The polyps live only on the reef surface. Because they depend on symbiotic photosynthetic algae, zooxanthellae, they cannot live where light does not penetrate.

saltwater or marine

mainly lives in oceans, seas, or other bodies of salt water.

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sedentary

remains in the same area

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

social

associates with others of its species; forms social groups.

solitary

lives alone

tactile

uses touch to communicate

territorial

defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement

tropical

the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.

venomous

an animal which has an organ capable of injecting a poisonous substance into a wound (for example, scorpions, jellyfish, and rattlesnakes).

visual

uses sight to communicate

year-round breeding

breeding takes place throughout the year

zooplankton

animal constituent of plankton; mainly small crustaceans and fish larvae. (Compare to phytoplankton.)

Ref­er­ences

Ag­bayani, E. 2008. "Ze­bra­soma flavescens" (On-line). Fish­Base. Ac­cessed April 08, 2008 at http://​www.​fishbase.​org/​summary/​Speciessummary.​php?​id=6018.

Atkins, P. 1981. Be­hav­ioral de­ter­mi­nants of the noc­tur­nal spac­ing pat­tern of the yel­low tang Ze­bra­soma flavescens (Acan­thuri­dae). Pa­cific Sci­ence, 35: 263-264.

Barry, K., C. Hawryshyn. 1999. Ef­fects of in­ci­dent light and back­ground con­di­tions on po­ten­tial con­spic­u­ous­ness of Hawai­ian coral reef fish. Jour­nal of the Ma­rine Bi­o­log­i­cal As­so­ci­a­tion of the United King­dom, 79: 495-508.

Brough, D., C. Brough. 2008. "An­i­mal-World" (On-line). Ac­cessed April 08, 2008 at http://​animal-world.​com/​encyclo/​marine/​tangs/​yellow.​php.

De­troit Zo­o­log­i­cal So­ci­ety, 2008. "De­troit Zoo" (On-line). Ac­cessed April 09, 2008 at http://​www.​detroitzoo.​org/​zoo/​index.​php?​option=content&​task=view&​id=562&​Itemid=610.

Dodds, K. 2007. "Reef Re­sources" (On-line). Ac­cessed May 03, 2008 at http://​www.​reefresources.​net/​RR_​profiles/​viewtopic.​php?​t=153.

Froese, R. 1998. Length-weight re­la­tion­ships for 18 less-stud­ied fish species. Jour­nal of ap­plied ichthy­ol­ogy, 14: 117-118.

Guiasu, R., R. Win­ter­bot­tom. 1998. Yel­low ju­ve­nile color pat­tern, diet switch­ing and the phy­logeny of the sur­geon­fish genus Ze­bra­soma. Bul­letin of Ma­rine Sci­ence, 63: 277-294.

Lobel, P. 1989. Ocean cur­rent vari­abil­ity and the spawn­ing sea­son of Hawai­ian reef fishes. En­vi­ron­men­tal Bi­ol­ogy of Fishes, 24: 161-171.

Mar­shall, N., K. Jen­nings, W. Mc­Far­land, E. Loew, G. Losey. 2003. Vi­sual Bi­ol­ogy of Hawai­ian Coral Reef Fishes. BioOne, 3: 467-480.

Ogawa, T., C. Brown. 2001. Or­na­men­tal reef fish aqua­cul­ture and col­lec­tion in Hawaii. Aquar­ium Sci­ences and Con­ser­va­tion, 3: 151-169.

Par­rish, J., J. Claisse. 2005. "Uni­ver­sity of Hawaii, De­part­ment of Zo­ol­ogy" (On-line pdf). Post-set­tle­ment Life His­tory of Key Coral Reef Fishes in a Hawai­ian Ma­rine Pro­tected Area Net­work. Ac­cessed May 03, 2008 at http://​www.​hawaii.​edu/​ssri/​hcri/​files/​res/​parrish_​c_​noaa_​final_​2004.​pdf.

Reynolds, W., M. Cast­er­lin. 1980. Ther­moreg­u­la­tory be­hav­ior of a trop­i­cal reef fish, Ze­bra­soma flavescens. OIKOS, 34: 356-358.

Sale, P., W. Dou­glas, P. Do­herty. 1984. Choice of Mi­cro­hab­i­tats by Coral Reef Fishes at Set­tle­ment. Coral Reefs, 3: 91-99.

Waikïkï Aquar­ium, 1999. "Ma­rine Life Pro­file: Yel­low Tang" (On-line pdf). Waikïkï Aquar­ium Ed­u­ca­tional De­part­ment. Ac­cessed April 07, 2008 at http://​www.​waquarium.​org/​MLP/​root/​pdf/​MarineLife/​Vertebrates/​YellowTang.​pdf.

Wood, A. 2008. "An­i­mal Life Re­source" (On-line). Ac­cessed April 09, 2008 at http://​animals.​jrank.​org/​pages/​2212/​Surgeonfishes-Relatives-Acanthuroidei-YELLOW-TANG-Zebrasoma-flavescens-SPECIES-ACCOUNTS.​html.

Wylie, C., V. Paul. 1988. Feed­ing pref­er­ences of the sur­geon­fish Ze­bra­soma flavescens in re­la­tion to chem­i­cal de­fenses of trop­i­cal algae. Ma­rine Ecol­ogy, 45: 23-32.