Codermetrics

Colophon

The animal on the cover of Codermetrics is a whitebar surgeonfish (Acanthurus leucopareius). All species of surgeonfish and other members of the Acanthuridae family (such as tangs and unicornfish) are distinctive for the sharp spines on either side of their tail fin—and in fact, Acanthurus is derived from the Greek for “thorn tail.” The common name of surgeonfish also arose due to these scalpel-like appendages, which the fish can use for defense with a rapid side sweep of their tail.

The whitebar surgeonfish is subtropical, and can be found in coral reefs around Pacific islands, Australia, and Southeast Asia. They grow to be around 8–9 inches long, and are primarily beige in color with iridescent blue spots and a dark brown face. Their eyes are set high in their face, directly in front of a white bar that runs from the top of their head down toward their throat. These fish also have a white bar on their tail. Their small mouths have one row of teeth that they use to scrape up algae, their sole food source.

Whitebar surgeonfish are popular in saltwater aquariums, and widely commercially available for that purpose. However, some species of surgeonfish tend to grow quickly (and to a large size) in an aquarium setting, so it’s advisable to do some research before adding them to a tank.

The cover image is from Cuvier’s Animals. The cover font is Adobe ITC Garamond. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont’s TheSansMonoCondensed. ...