What Animal Lives Where

Where has the Yellowfin surgeonfish been recorded?

Acanthurus xanthopterus occurrence evidence comes from 1,645 records in 39 countries and territories, from 1881 to 2026. Most records come from Panama.

PerciformesAcanthuridaeAcanthurus

Observation evidence passport

Evidence found

1,645 records across 39 countries and territories, 1881–2026.

Acanthurus xanthopterus · GBIF taxon key 5209252

Source coverage

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

Refreshed 2026-09-21. Inspect the taxon on GBIF.

What this means

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

9 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: February. 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

18812026

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

Where Yellowfin surgeonfish has been recorded

The countries below show where occurrence evidence exists for Yellowfin surgeonfish. 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
Panama 290
United States Minor Outlying Islands 241
Micronesia 203
United States 199
Seychelles 125
Costa Rica 106
Marshall Islands 89
Mexico 75
Northern Mariana Islands 74
American Samoa 63
Philippines 21
Australia 20
Mayotte 20
Guam 15
Colombia 13
New Caledonia 11
ZZ 9
Indonesia 8
British Indian Ocean Territory 7
French Polynesia 7
Ecuador 6
Kiribati 6
Thailand 6
South Africa 5
Maldives 4
Myanmar 3
Djibouti 2
Eritrea 2
India 2
Kenya 2
Solomon Islands 2
Tonga 2
Cook Islands 1
China 1
Fiji 1
Japan 1
Sri Lanka 1
Mozambique 1
Papua New Guinea 1

Related animals

Others in the family Acanthuridae.

Ocean surgeon
Ocean surgeon
73,085 records
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
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.