Acanthurus ID

[moriarty]

Ordered an Acanthurus dussumieri (Hawaii) from LA (arrived this morning), but I have my doubts as to whether they correctly ID this guy. What stands out to me the most is the black spine (spine is white in A. dussumieri). Fish is about 5", and while it's difficult to differentiate juveniles of several Acanthurus species, I can see characteristics of A. xanthopterus, A. dussumieri, and A. blochii. All 3 species are indigenous to Hawaii, so I can't rule any of them out based on location. I'm leaning toward A. xanthopterus, but wanted to run it by you guys and get some other opinions/thoughts.

Apologies for the shoddy acclimation bucket pics, and I'm sure the dark "stress coloration" doesn't help much for ID purposes. Might be able to sneak a couple more from QT if necessary.

Regardless of the species, I think that this guy has the potential to be a real looker, especially with a bit of growth.

 

[BlueMac92]

Without better pics of the face, I'm not too sure. But it looks like a duss from what I can see...

 

[moriarty]

Will try to get a few shots of the face if he feels like cooperating! He definitely does have some duss traits, but that black spine is really throwing me off.

His colors have lightened since acclimation, which may also help a bit.

 

[angelman21]

definetley looks like a dussumieri but need a better pic to be sure...