The regal tang Paracanthurus hepatus (also variously known as the blue, hippo, palette surgeonfish or “Dory” from “Finding Nemo”), has been spotted for the first time in the coastal waters of Vietnam. Juvenile specimens of this species were photographed near Acropora sp. coral at a depth of 4.5 metres on the southern slope of Hon Noc Island in Nha Trang Bay. The report, published in the Journal of Ichthyology, includes details about Hon Noc Island’s location, as well as descriptions of the habitat where the species was discovered, highlighting the coral coverage on the slope and the hydrological conditions of the area.
While this species is commonly found throughout the Indo-Pacific region, it is not well-documented in many areas and is under-represented in museum collections (Randall, 2001, 2002, 2022). The species is recognised in the South China Sea (Randall, 2000), particularly in its northern region, where it has been observed off the southwestern coast of Taiwan (Shao et al., 2008; Chen et al., 2010). While the it has not been documented in the more southern Pratas reefs (Chen et al., 1995), it has been noted in the reefs of the Spratly Archipelago/Truong Sa, situated in the central part of the South China Sea (Nguyen Nhat Thi and Nguyen Van Quan, 2005). Additionally, there are no records of the palette surgeonfish in the coastal waters of Vietnam.
[Image: Two Paracanthurus hepatus juveniles above Acropora sp. coral (the third juvenile is hidden by the left edge of the coral) on the southern slope of Hon Noc Island, at 4.5 m depth. Other fish species associated with this coral: Dascyllus reticulatus (>80 specimens), D. trimaculatus (2 specimens), Apogonidae gen. sp. (3 specimens), and Paracirrhites arcatus (1 specimen). Photograph by O.V. Savinkin.}
