Doubletooth Surgeonfish Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Deep, oval, laterally compressed body in muted grey to olive-brown tones
• Caudal peduncle armed with a row of raised, forward-hooked bony plates forming a saw-like ridge, rather than a single folding scalpel blade
• Subtle pale mottling or faint banding along the flanks that can be hard to see in murky water
• Darker margins on the dorsal and anal fins
• Rounded tail fin and a moderate adult size around 35-40 cm
• A fairly small head relative to body depth, with a blunt, rounded snout

Common look-alikes

Other sawtail surgeonfish (Prionurus species) look almost identical and are best told apart by geographic range and the exact number of peduncle plates. Typical Acanthurus surgeonfish carry a single retractable scalpel blade instead of a fixed row of plates, a difference easiest to see by looking closely at the base of the tail. Bluespine unicornfish add a forward-pointing horn on the forehead that doubletooth surgeonfish never develop, ruling out that species at a glance.

Where you'll see one

The doubletooth surgeonfish is native to the eastern Atlantic, patrolling rocky reefs and shallow coastal waters off West Africa, usually alone or in small loose groups over algae-covered rock and rubble in water shallow enough for strong surge and wave action.