Our animals
Select zone
Northern lakes and seas
The ocean
Tropical rivers and lakes
Select aquaria
The crevices of the coral reef
The Ocean
Seahorse
Select species
Select a species to read more
Olive-brown seasnake
Blotcheye soldierfish
Hawaiian squirrelfish
Blackbelt hogfish
Emperor angelfish
Powderblue surgeonfish
Azure damselfish
Sunburst butterflyfish
Clown coris
Moorish idol
Spotted surgeonfish
Clown coris
Blue-spotted stingray
Moorish idol
Facts
| Latin | Zanclus cornutus |
| Size | 23 cm |
| Food | Sponges and sessile algae |
| Habitat | Coral reefs |
| IUCN | Not evaluated |
| Location | The Indian Ocean and Western Pacific |
| Map |  |
Tweezer-like mouth
The moorish idol eats tiny creatures embedded in the narrow crevices of the coral reef. The pointed mouth serves as a pair of tweezers that enables the moorish idol to nab food from these otherwise inaccessible places.
Pennants and horns
The moorish idol’s scientific name derives from its appearance. Zanclus means ‘pennant’ and cornutus means ‘horned’. The moorish idol has a pennant-shaped dorsal fin and two small horns in front of its eyes.