Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis

Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis thechevron tang, black surgeonfish, Hawaiian bristletooth, Hawaiian kole or Hawaiian surgeonfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae which includes the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. This fish is found in the tropical Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy
Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis was first formally described in 1955 by the American ichthyologist John Ernest Randall with its type locality given as the entrance to Keauhou Bay on Hawaii Island. The genera Ctenochaetus and Acanthurus make up the tribe Acanthurini which is one of three tribes in the subfamily Acanthurinae which is one of two subfamilies in the family Acanthuridae.

Description
Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis has the dorsal fin supported by 8 spines and between 27 and 29 soft rays while the anal fin is supported by 3 spines and 25 or 26 soft rays. The adults look black from a distance but uniform colour is broken by many thin green stripes. The juveniles are very different from the adults having deeper bodies with an overall colour bright orange red with many dark chevron markings. This fish has a maximum published total length of 25 cm

Distribution and habitat
Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis has a wide distribution in the tropical Pacific Ocean from the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan east as far as Hawaii, through most of Micronesia and French Polynesia as far south as the Pitcairn Islands and Rapa Iti. This is an uncommon species of seaward reefs, both rock and coral reefs, with the juveniles typically occurring in deeper waters rich in corals.

Utilisation
Ctenochaetus hawaiienis is popular in the aquarium trade where the juveniles are known as chevron tangs. It is the 5th most exported aquarium fish in Hawaii.