What Animal Lives Where

Where has the Ocean surgeon been recorded?

Acanthurus bahianus occurrence evidence comes from 73,086 records in 34 countries and territories, from 1899 to 2026. Most records come from United States.

Ocean surgeon
Ocean surgeon — Photo (display-sized rendition): (c) João D'Andretta, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
PerciformesAcanthuridaeAcanthurus

Observation evidence passport

Evidence found

73,086 records across 34 countries and territories, 1899–2026.

Acanthurus bahianus · GBIF taxon key 5209181

Source coverage

CC0 GBIF Animalia occurrence facets, including country, month and year summaries.

Refreshed 2026-09-20. Inspect the taxon on GBIF.

What this means

The species has been recorded in the listed places in the stated source universe. Peak month: June.

7 months reach at least 10% of the peak facet count.

What this does not mean

repeated describes the record pattern, not a formal range, residency, abundance or conservation assessment.

A single record remains evidence of a recording, not proof that a population lives there.

Compare this animal’s observation pattern

When it is recorded

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: June. Records cluster in the months an animal is present and being looked for, so a summer peak can reflect observer effort as much as the animal.

Records over time

18992026

Recording effort has risen steeply almost everywhere since the 1990s, so a rising line usually shows more observers rather than more animals.

Where Ocean surgeon has been recorded

The countries below show where occurrence evidence exists for Ocean surgeon. They do not define a complete habitat range: survey effort differs by place, and historical or one-off records can appear alongside repeated presence.

PlaceRecordsShare
United States 60,353
Puerto Rico 9,781
US Virgin Islands 2,489
Belize 64
Brazil 49
Jamaica 47
ZZ 33
Trinidad & Tobago 25
Bahamas 23
Bermuda 22
Cayman Islands 22
Curaçao 20
Panama 20
Aruba 18
Mexico 16
Venezuela 15
Colombia 13
Cuba 13
Bonaire 11
United States Minor Outlying Islands 9
Barbados 6
Antigua & Barbuda 5
Costa Rica 5
Honduras 4
Netherlands 4
Dominican Republic 3
Haiti 3
Saint Helena 3
Turks and Caicos Islands 3
Martinique 2
Nicaragua 2
Dominica 1
Saint Lucia 1
British Virgin Islands 1

Related animals

Others in the family Acanthuridae.

Blue tang surgeonfish
Blue tang surgeonfish
72,602 records
Striated surgeonfish
Striated surgeonfish
24,529 records
Brown Surgeonfish
Brown Surgeonfish
20,768 records
Whitecheek surgeonfish
Whitecheek surgeonfish
15,374 records
Orangespine unicornfish
Orangespine unicornfish
11,768 records
Convict surgeonfish
Convict surgeonfish
8,606 records
Orangeband Surgeonfish
Orangeband Surgeonfish
7,615 records
Bluelip Bristletooth
Bluelip Bristletooth
7,074 records
Record pattern: repeated
Repeated records across many years and months. This is inferred from how many years and months the animal appears in, not from a range map — treat it as evidence, not a formal assessment.