hippo tang

[Anonymous]

Here is my blue hippo tang.

He is good friends with the foxface, which is why I can't get a picture of him without a piece of the foxface in it.

 

[PTR18482]

:?: Can anyone tell me why they are called Hippo Tangs :?:
I bought one as a blue tang, his name is Surge and he is cool
but why are they called hippos :?:

 

[Len]

Good question Regal Tangs, I understand, but I've never figured out why they've been historically named Hippo Tangs.

 

[Anonymous]

Someone (who was from Hawaii) mentioned on one of these reef boards that "hippo" is an a "bastardization" of the native Hawaiian word for the pacific blue tang.

I have no idea if that is true or not but it always seemed believable to me!

 

[EmilyB]

Nice tang !

Another theory from Marine Aquarist Manual (Loiselle, Baensch)

As it bears no resemblance whatsoever to a hippopotamus, the peculiar common name of Paracanthus hepatus probably derives from a long-standing mispronunciation of its scientific name.

 

[Robin Goodfellow]

hi.
Two other common names are flagtail surgeonfish and palette tang. I have no clue about the name hippo, but I can offer a guess that it is related to hippo regius, a famous city in Africa among Catholics.

Purple is considered as "regal" in Roman time, not blue.

 

[Quigonsean]

The name Hippo was given because it sounds similar to part of the scientific name Heppatus Incedently I was gonna get one and name him Jaundace since everytime I just glance at the sci name I read it as heppatitus. But there you have it.

Sean

 

[Len]

Hey Sean,

 

[Anonymous]

OK, this is what I found:

Some call this the Hippo Tang, which comes from a degeneration of the species name.

link

So Sean is more likely to be correct than my wild guess... :lol:

 

[Quigonsean]

Thi is from Pet Solutions Web Site

Blue Hippo Tangs, Paracanthurus hepatus, are found dispersed throughout the waters of the Indo Pacific region. Its common name "Hippo" is a reference to the similarity in sound between the scientific name "Hepatus" and the animal "Hippopatamus."

Oh Thanks for the welcome Len, nice to meat you. I must say I spent afew days looking through here before registering, and you have some gorgeous fish I dig the black Tang, but then Triggers and Tangs are my favorites

Sean