blochii, Acanthurus Valenciennes [A.] in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1835:209 [Histoire naturelle des poissons v. 10; ref. 1004] Mauritius, Mascarenes, southwestern Indian Ocean; Seychelles, western Indian Ocean. Syntypes: MNHN (apparently lost), ZMB 1733 (3) Indian Ocean. Type catalog: Bauchot & Randall 1996:65 [ref. 22195], Paepke 1999:41 [ref. 24282]. Not Acanthurus blochii Bennett 1836 [8 Apr.]. •Questionably a synonym of Acanthurus mata Cuvier 1829 -- (Randall 1956:219 [ref. 12221]). •Synonym of Acanthurus xanthopterus Valenciennes 1835 -- (Dor 1984:255 [ref. 29757]). •Valid as Acanthurus blochii Valenciennes 1835 -- (Randall 1986:813 [ref. 5706], Randall 1988:59 [ref. 14257], Randall et al. 1990:421 [ref. 15987], Francis 1993:167 [ref. 25479], Allen 1997:228 [ref. 23977], Randall et al. 1997:421 [ref. 25919], Myers 1999:269 [ref. 23965], Fricke 1999:535 [ref. 24106], Allen 2000:93 [ref. 37268], Randall in Randall & Lim 2000:642 [ref. 25122], Nakabo 2000:1330 [ref. 25182], Laboute & Grandperrin 2000:425 [ref. 25191], Allen 2000:123 [ref. 25868], Hutchins 2001:270 [ref. 25841], Hutchins 2001:45 [ref. 25847], Kuiter & Debelius 2001:49 [ref. 26232], Randall 2001:3664 [ref. 26301], Nakabo 2002:1330 [ref. 26193], Allen & Adrim 2003:62 [ref. 26830], Myers & Donaldson 2003:646 [ref. 27495], Lobel & Lobel 2004:76 [ref. 27576], Randall et al. 2004:29 [ref. 27624], Heemstra et al. 2004:3330 [ref. 27945], Heemstra & Heemstra 2004:400 [ref. 28072], Randall 2005:575 [ref. 28239], Mundy 2005:486 [ref. 28379], Allen et al. 2006:1734 [ref. 29094], Randall 2007:420 [ref. 30952], Fricke et al. 2009:106 [ref. 30213], Motomura et al. 2010:226 [ref. 31256], Allen & Erdmann 2012:1019 [ref. 31980], Fricke et al. 2013:270 [ref. 32706], Delrieu-Trottin et al. 2015:8 [ref. 33988], Koeda et al. 2016:99 [ref. 35333], Carpenter et al. 2017:41 [ref. 35143], Fricke et al. 2018:351 [ref. 35805], Fricke et al. 2019:299 [ref. 36673], Kim et al. 2021:208 [ref. 39117], Randall 2022:222 [ref. 40150]). Current status: Valid as Acanthurus blochii Valenciennes 1835. Acanthuridae. Distribution: Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, Seychelles, Aldabra (Seychelles), Comoros, Madagascar and Mascarenes (La Réunion, Mauritius, Rodrigues) east to Hawaiian Islands (.S.A.) and Society Islands (French Polynesia), north to southern Japan and Ogasawara Islands (Japan), south to Lord Howe Island (Australia) and New Caledonia. Habitat: marine.