Moorish idol
Zanclus cornutus
— Where the name comes from
Zanclus comes from the Greek zánklon, the sickle: it is the same word behind Zancle, the ancient name of Messina, so called for the sickle shape of its harbour. Cornutus refers to the horn-like bumps above the eyes of adults. The common name comes from the belief among Indian Ocean fishermen that it brought good luck and was venerated.
— Facts
- Group
- Fish · Actinopterygii · Chondrichthyes
- Order
- Perch-likes
- Habitat
- Coral reefs and hard bottoms between 3 and 180 metres
- Range
- The tropical Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to Mexico
- Size
- 16–23 cm, 200–400 g
- Diet
- Sponges, tunicates, algae, small invertebrates
- Lifespan
- 10 years
— Characteristics
- 01
The dorsal fin extends into a filament as long as the body.
- 02
The snout is a slender tube for probing into crevices.
- 03
It swims in pairs or small groups, almost never alone.
— What sets it apart
Its larvae drift in the open ocean for a length of time few reef fish allow themselves — up to seven months — and during that period they have a form so unlike the adult that they were described as a genus of their own. It is why the species is found identical from East Africa to Mexico: the currents have months in which to distribute it, and no local population stays isolated long enough to diverge. A long drift is worth, at sea, as much as a bridge between continents.
