Noms alternatifs : Peixe Cirurgião, Doctorfish tang, barbero rayado, cirujano rayado
The doctorfish lives in the tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It reaches a maximum length of 39 centimeters and a maximum weight of around 5.1 kilograms.
The name of this fish comes from the structures on the both sides of the caudal peduncle, called "scalpels". These are used in fights with other fish of its species and are also a form of defense.
The fish usually has a blue-gray from dark brown colour as well as a number of vertical bars (between 10 and 12 usually), but they are faint most of the time.
The caudal, dorsal and anal fins of the fish have blue edges.