---
title: "Blauwe doktersvis"
description: "Acanthurus coeruleus — Vissen. Acanthurus coeruleus is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs, found in the Atlantic Ocean."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/atlantic-blue-tang
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Blauwe doktersvis

> Acanthurus coeruleus — Vissen. Acanthurus coeruleus  is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs, found in the Atlantic Ocean.

- Scientific name: *Acanthurus coeruleus*
- Category: `fish` (Vissen)
- Habitats: `sea` (Zee en kust)
- iNaturalist observations: 9019
- Wikidata: [Q882618](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q882618)
- iNaturalist taxon: [121196](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/121196)

## Names

- en: Atlantic Blue Tang
- de: Blauer Doktorfisch
- es: Cirujano azul
- fr: Chirurgien bleu
- nl: Blauwe doktersvis
- pl: Pokolec turkusowy

## Countries with the most observations

MX (1304), US (583), PR (457), HN (437), BS (436), BZ (433), VI (412), KY (337), CW (293), GP (268), CU (232), BR (223)

## Summary

Acanthurus coeruleus  is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs, found in the Atlantic Ocean. It can grow up to 39 centimetres (15 in) long. Common names include Atlantic blue tang, blue barber, blue doctor, blue doctorfish, blue tang, blue tang surgeonfish, yellow barber, and yellow doctorfish.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acanthurus_coeruleus

## Photo

![Blauwe doktersvis](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/atlantic-blue-tang/medium.jpg)

Photo: Al Kordesch · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/19282484

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/atlantic-blue-tang?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).