Acanthurus mata (Cuvier, 1829), Elongate Surgeonfish (Acanthuridae), newly recorded in the Tropical Eastern Pacific

Abstract

The reef-fish fauna of the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) includes 12 species of surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae), five of them in the genus Acanthurus. Recent recreational scuba diving at Isla Darwin in the Galapagos archipelago produced photographs of adults of an additional species of Acanthurus, A. mata (Cuvier, 1829), for which there are no previous records in the TEP. This species may have escaped previous notice due to its semi-pelagic habitat preference and its resemblance to Acanthurus xanthopterus Valenciennes, 1835, which occurs throughout much of the Galapagos.