NL·0789Herbarium of the Nature Library
- Name
- Zanclus cornutus
- Family
- Zanclidae
- Native to
- Indo-Pacific and eastern Pacific, from East Africa to Hawaii and the Gulf of California
- Habitat
- Coral reef, Rocky reef
Moorish idol
Zanclus cornutus
Also calledKihikihi (Hawaiian) · Tsunodashi (Japanese) · Ídolo moro (Spanish) · Idole maure (French)
The only member of its family, a disc of black, white and yellow trailing a long white dorsal streamer. Despite its fame, it is notoriously difficult to keep in aquaria.
The Moorish idol is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zanclidae. It is the only member of the monospecific genus Zanclus and the only extant species within the Zanclidae. This species is found on reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. Wikipedia
What it can do
- iLong, tubular snout probes crevices for sponges
- iiLong pelagic larval stage (up to months) lets it reach remote islands
- iiiSettles at a large size, up to ~7.5 cm, after drifting in the plankton
In the field
Field marks
- aTall, compressed disc-shaped body
- bTwo broad black vertical bands on white and yellow
- cVery long, whip-like white dorsal filament
- dProtruding tubular snout with an orange saddle
- eAdults with small bony horns in front of the eyes
- Not to be confused with
- Pennant bannerfish (Heniochus spp.) look similar but have a shorter snout, no orange saddle and a yellow rear body and tail; Moorish idol's tail is black.
- Where to see it
- Hawaii, Red Sea (rare), Maldives, Great Barrier Reef, Raja Ampat
- When
- Year-round
Life & habits
- Diet
- Mainly sponges, also algae and invertebrates
- Habitat
- Reef flats, lagoons and outer reef slopes to about 180 m
- Size
- Up to about 23 cm
- Lifespan
- Uncertain; likely several years
Usually seen in pairs or small groups; occasionally gathers in schools of hundreds.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Native range
Indo-Pacific and eastern Pacific, from East Africa to Hawaii and the Gulf of California
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
Woodcuts and engravings matched from the Source Library’s scanned books by name. Plates marked “relative” show a close kin rather than this exact species. Click a plate to read the page it came from, with translation.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Zanclus cornutus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
Marginalia
The name comes from Moors of Africa, who were said to regard the fish as a bringer of happiness; it gained global fame as the character Gill in Finding Nemo (2003).
Curiosity
Zanclidae has just this single living species; its closest relatives are the surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae).
Kinship
Fact-checked: 1 correction made to this sheet. Photographs: iNaturalist contributors under the licences shown. Records: GBIF.org. Historical plates: Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0; originals public domain). Summary text: Nature Library editors and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Medicinal and edibility notes are historical and educational, not advice. iNaturalist taxon 83290.