It’s not all about looks

A Reticulated Butterflyfish and Thompsons Surgeonfish in the waters off Hawaii

Reticulated Butterflyfishes are among the easiest fish to identify with their array of white spots on black, and other notable markings.

The same cannot be said for Brown Surgeonfishes. Mostly brown, with a tinge of lavender and some dull spots on the face, this is a fish that’s often overlooked. But according to my fish book, it boasts a couple of noteworthy accolades.

The first is that, back in 1993, “the biggest species of bacteria known to science had been discovered in the gut of this surgeonfish.” It notes that the bacteria was about the size of a hyphen in a newspaper article, which is a pretty good size actually.

The other distinction is that a study, by Roland and Marie-Louise Bauchot, of the brains of Hawaiian reef fishes, declared that the smartest fish on the reef is none other than the little Brown Surgeonfish.

8 thoughts on “It’s not all about looks”

    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      It’s a pretty cool fish, but it really does get overlooked. This started out as a post about the butterflyfish, but when I identified the other one, I thought that was more interesting

      Liked by 1 person

      1. bushboy's avatarbushboy

        I think you are right. The post would have been, look a butterfly fish. Aren’t they pretty. look a butterfly fish. They swim like a fish. Look a butterfly fish and more interesting facts. Could never out do huge friggin bacteria or knows more than any other reef fish. Go little fella, I’m on your side 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

          Well, I do like butterflyfishes, which are mostly quite beautiful, but the little surgeonfish is pretty cool too. Last time I was in the water I was noticing just how many there are.

          Liked by 1 person

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