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Naso lituratus
The orangespine unicornfish has a continuous, unnotched dorsal fin with VI spines and 27-30 soft rays. The anal fin is long, with II spines and 28-30 soft rays. The caudal fin is lunate; adult males develop a long filament from the tip of each lobe. The caudal peduncle bears two forward-directed knife-like plates. These plates are not well-developed in juveniles. The keeled peduncular plates are bright orange. Body color is grey-brown with distinctive black, yellow and white markings. The species lacks any anterior protuberance or "horns" along that forehead that are found in some other acanthurids. It was originally believed that the Naso, Blonde Naso and Streamer versions were all different species, but this is not the case. The Blonde is a color variant and the streamers indicate that the fish is male
Hanauma Bay
Surgeonfish have a blade like spine in the tail that points outwards when bent, unicorns have two hook-like plates along the tail, these are used for defence and are as sharp as a surgeons scalpel, hence the name "Surgeonfish".
Spotted on Oct 12, 2014
Submitted on Dec 3, 2014
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