What type of fish is Dory from Finding Nemo?
Dory, the fish from Finding Nemo and Finding Dory, is a paracanthurus. This blue fish is better known as a regal blue tang and lives on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
The Disney film Finding Nemo was set on the east coast of Australia. Specifically, Finding Nemo was set on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, and in Sydney, New South Wales.
The main characters of the films are cartoon versions of fish living in Australian waters. Fairly famously, Nemo is a clownfish. If you take a Great Barrier Reef snorkelling tour from the likes of Cairns, Port Douglas or Airlie Beach, guides will be eager to point clownfish out. Finding Nemo in real life has become a highlight of a Great Barrier Reef visit.
Dory, on the other hand, doesn’t get quire as much attention. She is a blue fish with yellow on her tail and fins. But what type of fish is Dory?
Dory the paracanthurus, or regal blue tang
Well, Dory from Finding Nemo is a paracanthurus – more commonly known as a regal blue tang. It’s a type of surgeonfish, and it largely lives in tropical waters around the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They go by several different names, including blue surgeonfish, hippo tang and flagtail surgeonfish.
You’ll find regal blue tangs off the east coast of Africa, around the Philippines and Indonesia, and near Pacific nations such as Samoa.
Find your ideal Great Barrier Reef tours by location
Great Barrier Reef tours run from numerous destinations along the Queensland coast. Different tours cater to different tastes – some make sure they go to the best snorkelling spots, others build in beach time and some throw in extra such as underwater observatories and glass bottom boat tours.
Use the following links to start picking the best Great Barrier Reef tour options where you’re going on holiday.
- The best Great Barrier Reef tours in… 1770 | Airlie Beach | Bundaberg | Cairns | Cape Tribulation | Mackay | Magnetic Island | Mission Beach | Palm Cove | Port Douglas | Townsville.
Finding Dory on the Great Barrier Reef
And, of course, there’s an excellent chance of seeing a paracanthurus on the Great Barrier Reef. There’s not exactly a shortage of regal blue tangs in the Coral Sea.
What might make things more confusing is that there is a species of fish living in Australian waters called a John Dory. Finding Nemo’s Dory is not a John Dory, however. In fact, she’s nothing like a John Dory. These tall, narrow-bodied fish are olive-coloured and have long spines on their dorsal fin.
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