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Description |
Indo-West Pacific: Maldives (Ref. 30829); then from the Andaman Sea (Ref. 9710) and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean to the Philippines and the Line Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to Samoa.
Geographic Range [top]
Range Description: Acanthurus maculiceps is found from the Maldive Islands to the Line Islands and Samoa Islands, northwards to the Ryukyu Islands, Japan and southwards to the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
Countries occurrence:
Native:
American Samoa; Australia (Ashmore-Cartier Is.); Christmas Island; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Guam; Indonesia; Japan; Kiribati (Gilbert Is., Phoenix Is.); Malaysia; Maldives; Marshall Islands; Micronesia, Federated States of ; Nauru; Northern Mariana Islands; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Taiwan, Province of China; Timor-Leste; Tokelau; Tuvalu; United States Minor Outlying Islands (Howland-Baker Is.); Wallis and Futuna
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Native:
Indian Ocean – western; Indian Ocean – eastern; Pacific – eastern central; Pacific – northwest; Pacific – western central
Additional data:
? Lower depth limit (metres): 30
? Upper depth limit (metres): 1
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.
Population [top]
Population: Acanthurus maculiceps was recorded as occasional in terms of relative abundance in the northern Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea and in Raja Ampat Indonesia (Allen 2009, 2003b). It was recorded as rare in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea (Allen 2003). It is reasonably common in Christmas Island, Indian Ocean (J.H. Choat pers. comm. 2010). It is rare in the American Samoa National Park (National Park of Samoa Checklist of Fishes accessed 21 April 2010). It is also rare in Guam (J. McIlwain unpub. data) and in the Philippines (C. Nanola, B. Stockwell and R. Abesamis pers. comm. 2010).
Current Population Trend: Unknown
Additional data:
? Population severely fragmented: No
Habitat and Ecology [top]
Habitat and Ecology: Acanthurus maculiceps is found in outer reef areas from 1 to at least 30 m, either as a solitary individual or in a small group. It is classified as a grazer/detritivore (Choat and Bellwood pers obs. in Green and Bellwood 2009). The sexes are separate among the acanthurids (Reeson 1983). Acanthurids do not display obvious sexual dimorphism, males assume courtship colours (J.H. Choat pers. comm. 2010).
Systems: Marine
Use and Trade [top]
Use and Trade: Acanthurus maculiceps is part of the multi-species surgeonfish fisheries throughout its range. It is rarely collected for the aquarium trade. It is sold online for $69.99-$499.95 (L. Rocha pers. comm. 2010).
Threats [top]
Major Threat(s): There are no major threats known for this species.
Surgeonfishes show varying degrees of habitat preference and utilization of coral reef habitats, with some species spending the majority of their life stages on coral reef while others primarily utilize seagrass beds, mangroves, algal beds, and /or rocky reefs. The majority of surgeonfishes are exclusively found on coral reef habitat, and of these, approximately 80% are experiencing a greater than 30% loss of coral reef area and degradation of coral reef habitat quality across their distributions. However, more research is needed to understand the long-term effects of coral reef habitat loss and degradation on these species populations. Widespread coral reef loss and declining habitat conditions are particularly worrying for species that recruit into areas with live coral cover, especially as studies have shown that protection of pristine habitats facilitate the persistence of adult populations in species that have spatially separated adult and juvenile habitats (Comeros-Raynal et al. 2012).
Conservation Actions [top]
Conservation Actions: There are no species-specific conservation measures in place for this species. Its distribution overlaps several marine protected areas in parts of its range.
Citation: Abesamis, R., Clements, K.D., McIlwain, J., Choat, J.H., Myers, R., Nanola, C., Rocha, L.A., Russell, B. & Stockwell, B. 2012. Acanthurus maculiceps. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T177957A1502445. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T177957A1502445.en. Downloaded on 05 September 2018.
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