Abstract
A total of 19 species of acanthurids are reported from Pakistan including Naso annulatus, N. elegans, N. brevirostris and N. vlamingii, which are reported for the first time from the Pakistan coast (Northern Arabian Sea). Of the reported species, the presence of Acanthurus dussumieri, A. melanurus, A. nigricans, A. triostegus, and Ctenochaetus strigosus in Pakistani waters could not be verified. The presence of A. monroviae in Pakistan is of great significance as this species was previously recorded from the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea only. Its occurrence in Pakistan may be attributed to anti-Lessepsian migration through the Red Sea.
