Surgeonfishes are named for the scalpel sharp blades that are found on their bodies. In some surgeon fish, such as the unicorn fish, these razor like blades do not move, but appear as a bony curve that is quite poisonous. On the unicorn fish this curved blade looks like a horn of a unicorn pointing forward from the nose. There are also three oval shaped bumps on each side of the tail that can inflict a painful cut. In other species the horn is replaced with a single large bump above the nose area but this is equally sharp. When humans handle surgeonfish, extreme caution should be taken. Many unsuspecting persons have received deep wounds to their hands when attempting to remove this fish from a net or openly handle it.
