Yellow Tang fish are part of the Chordate Phylum. This class of marine organisms are vertebrate organisms, containing a notochord. A notochord is a rod that helps provide support while the organism is moving. The Chordate Phylum also have characteristics such as a bilateral symmetry, segmented muscles, some sort of tail, digestive system, an endoskeleton and a ventral heart.
Yellow Tangs (Zebrasoma Flavesenes/ Yellow Surgeonfish/La-'i-pa-la) are found in tropical regions such as the coral reef off the Hawaiian Islands and Japan. These habitats are ideal for Yellow Tangs because they have very diverse coral reefs, warm temperatures and lots of sounding food sources. These fish are 6-7 inches long and 1-2 centimeters wide and are known for their vibrant yellow color. A unique characterstic of the Yellow Tang is that at night a brown patch and horizontal band develops in the middle of the Yellow Tang. This white horizontal line also appears when it is stressed or flustered. Its arrow shaped body structure consists of their dorsal, ventral fins and snout like mouth. Its mouth is shaped this way so that it can eat the algae and other green plants off the rocks and coral. For protection against predators, there is a sharp spine “tang” located near their tail that is used as a shield or weapon.
Yellow Tangs reproduce through sexual reproduction in pairs or groups. A mother yellow Tang can lay up to 40,00 eggs in one spawning.
