Pomacanthidae

Marine angelfishes
File:Nur00502.jpg
French angelfish, Pomacanthus paru
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Pomacanthidae
Genera
Apolemichthys Centropyge Chaetodontoplus Genicanthus Holacanthus Pomacanthus Pygoplites See text for species.

Marine angelfishes are a type of perciform fish of the family Pomacanthidae. Found on shallow reefs in the tropical Atlantic, Indian, and mostly western Pacific Ocean, the family contains seven genera and approximately 86 species. They should not be confused with the freshwater angelfish, tropical cichlids of the Amazon River basin.

With their vibrant colours and deep, laterally compressed bodies, marine angelfishes are some of the more conspicuous residents of the reef. They most closely resemble the butterflyfishes, a related family of similarly showy reef fish. Marine angelfish are distinguished from butterflyfish by the presence of strong preopercle spines (part of the gill covers) in the former. This feature also explains the family name Pomacanthidae; from the Greek poma meaning "cover" and akantha meaning "thorn".

Many species of marine angelfishes have streamer-like extensions of the soft dorsal and anal fins. The fish have small mouths, relatively large pectoral fins and rounded to lunate tail fins. The largest species, the gray angelfish (Pomacanthus arcuatus) may reach a length of 60 centimetres; at the other extreme, members of the genus Centropyge do not exceed 15 centimetres. A length of 20-30 centimetres is average for the rest of the family. The smaller species are popular amongst aquarists, whereas the largest species are occasionally sought as a food fish; however, there have been reports of ciguatera poisoning as a result of eating marine angelfish.

The larger species are also quite bold and seemingly fearless; they are known to approach divers. While the majority adapt easily to captive life, some are specialist feeders which are difficult to maintain. Feeding habits can be strictly defined through genus, with Genicanthus species feeding on zooplankton and Centropyge preferring filamentous algae. Other species focus on sessile benthic invertebrates; sponges, tunicates, bryozoans, and hydroids are staples.

Most marine angelfishes restrict themselves to the shallows of the reef, seldom venturing deeper than 50 metres. The recently described Centropyge abei is known to inhabit depths of 150 meters. They are diurnal animals, hiding amongst the nooks and crevices of the reef by night. Some species are solitary in nature and form highly territorial mated pairs; others form harems with a single male dominant over several females. As juveniles, some species may eke out a living as cleaner fish. Common to many species is a dramatic shift in coloration associated with maturity. For example, young male ornate angelfish (Genicanthus bellus) have broad, black bands and are indistinguishable from females; as they mature, bright orange bands develop on the flanks and back.

Thought to correspond to social rank, these colour shifts are not necessarily confined to males; all marine angelfish species are known to be protogynous hermaphrodites. This means that if the dominant male of a harem is removed, a female will turn into a functional male.

As pelagic spawners, marine angelfishes release many tiny buoyant eggs into the water which then become part of the plankton. The eggs float freely with the currents until hatching, a high number falling victim to planktonic feeders.

Species

There are 87 species in seven genera:

Twospined angelfish, Centropyge bispinosa

Flame angel, Centropyge loricula

Queen angelfish, Holacanthus ciliaris

Rock beauty, Holacanthus tricolor

Bluering angelfish, Pomacanthus annularis

Gray angelfish, Pomacanthus arcuatus

Emperor angelfish, Pomacanthus imperator

Yellowbar angelfish, Pomacanthus maculosus

Semicircle angelfish, Pomacanthus semicirculatus

• Genus Apolemichthys
  • Banded angelfish, Apolemichthys arcuatus (Linnaeus, 1758).
  • Armitage angelfish, Apolemichthys armitagei Smith, 1955.
  • Griffis angelfish, Apolemichthys griffisi (Carlson & Taylor, 1981).
  • Reunion angelfish, Apolemichthys guezei (Randall & Maugé, 1978).
  • Tiger angelfish, Apolemichthys kingi Heemstra, 1984.
  • Threespot angelfish, Apolemichthys trimaculatus (Cuvier, 1831).
  • Goldspotted angelfish, Apolemichthys xanthopunctatus Burgess, 1973.
  • Yellow-ear angelfish, Apolemichthys xanthotis (Fraser-Brunner, 1950).
  • Yellowtail angelfish, Apolemichthys xanthurus (Bennett, 1833).
• Genus Centropyge
  • Orangeback angelfish, Centropyge acanthops (Norman, 1922).
  • Cherubfish, Centropyge argi Woods & Kanazawa, 1951.
  • Golden angelfish, Centropyge aurantia Randall & Wass, 1974.
  • Bicolor angelfish, Centropyge bicolor (Bloch, 1787).** Flameback angelfish, Centropyge aurantonotus Burgess, 1974.

• • Abe's angelfish, Centropyge abei Allen, 2006.
  • Twospined angelfish, Centropyge bispinosa (Günther, 1860).
  • Peppermint angelfish, Centropyge boylei Pyle & Randall, 1992.
  • Cocos-Keeling angelfish, Centropyge colini Smith-Vaniz & Randall, 1974.
  • Blue Mauritius angelfish, Centropyge debelius Pyle, 1990.
  • Blacktail angelfish, Centropyge eibli Klausewitz, 1963.
  • Rusty angelfish, Centropyge ferrugata Randall & Burgess, 1972.
  • Orange angelfish, Centropyge fisheri (Snyder, 1904).
  • Whitetail angelfish, Centropyge flavicauda Fraser-Brunner, 1933.
  • Yellowfin angelfish, Centropyge flavipectoralis Randall & Klausewitz, 1977.
  • Lemonpeel angelfish, Centropyge flavissima (Cuvier, 1831).
  • Yellow angelfish, Centropyge heraldi Woods & Schultz, 1953.
  • Blackear angelfish, Centropyge hotumatua Randall & Caldwell, 1973.
  • Japanese angelfish, Centropyge interruptus (Tanaka, 1918).
  • Yellowhead angelfish, Centropyge joculator Smith-Vaniz & Randall, 1974.
  • Flame angel, Centropyge loricula (Günther, 1874).
  • Multicolor angelfish, Centropyge multicolor Randall & Wass, 1974.
  • Barred angelfish, Centropyge multifasciata (Smith & Radcliffe, 1911).
  • Dusky angelfish, Centropyge multispinis (Playfair, 1867).
  • Nahacky's angelfish, Centropyge nahackyi Kosaki, 1989.
  • Narc angelfish, Centropyge narcosis Pyle & Randall, 1993.
  • Blackspot angelfish, Centropyge nigriocella Woods & Schultz, 1953.
  • Midnight angelfish, Centropyge nox (Bleeker, 1853).
  • Russet angelfish, Centropyge potteri (Jordan & Metz, 1912).
  • Resplendent angelfish, Centropyge resplendens Lubbock & Sankey, 1975.
  • Mango angelfish, Centropyge shepardi Randall & Yasuda, 1979.
  • Keyhole angelfish, Centropyge tibicen (Cuvier, 1831).
  • Purplemask angelfish, Centropyge venustus (Yasuda & Tominaga, 1969).
  • Pearlscale angelfish, Centropyge vrolikii (Bleeker, 1853).
• Genus Chaetodontoplus
  • Ballina angelfish, Chaetodontoplus ballinae Whitley, 1959.
  • Bluespotted angelfish, Chaetodontoplus caeruleopunctatus Yasuda & Tominaga, 1976.
  • Orangeface angelfish, Chaetodontoplus chrysocephalus (Bleeker, 1854).
  • Conspicuous angelfish, Chaetodontoplus conspicillatus (Waite, 1900).
  • Velvet angelfish, Chaetodontoplus dimidiatus (Bleeker, 1860).
  • Scribbled angelfish, Chaetodontoplus duboulayi (Günther, 1867).
  • Black-velvet angelfish, Chaetodontoplus melanosoma (Bleeker, 1853).
  • Queensland yellowtail angelfish, Chaetodontoplus meredithi Kuiter, 1989.
  • Vermiculated angelfish, Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus (Bloch, 1787).
  • Chaetodontoplus niger Chan, 1966.
  • Blueface angelfish, Chaetodontoplus personifer (McCulloch, 1914).
  • Bluestriped angelfish, Chaetodontoplus septentrionalis (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844).
• Genus Genicanthus
  • Ornate angelfish, Genicanthus bellus Randall, 1975.
  • Zebra angelfish, Genicanthus caudovittatus (Günther, 1860).
  • Blackstriped angelfish, Genicanthus lamarck (Lacépède, 1802).
  • Spotbreast angelfish, Genicanthus melanospilos (Bleeker, 1857).
  • Masked angelfish, Genicanthus personatus Randall, 1975.
  • Halfbanded angelfish, Genicanthus semicinctus (Waite, 1900).
  • Japanese swallow, Genicanthus semifasciatus (Kamohara, 1934).
  • Pitcairn angelfish, Genicanthus spinus Randall, 1975.
  • Genicanthus takeuchii Pyle, 1997.
  • Blackedged angelfish, Genicanthus watanabei (Yasuda & Tominaga, 1970).
• Genus Holacanthus
  • Guinean angelfish, Holacanthus africanus Cadenat, 1951.
  • Bermuda blue angelfish, Holacanthus bermudensis Goode, 1876.
  • Queen angelfish, Holacanthus ciliaris (Linnaeus, 1758).
  • Clarion angelfish, Holacanthus clarionensis Gilbert, 1891.
  • Blue angelfish, Holacanthus isabelita (Jordan & Rutter, 1898).
  • Clipperton angelfish, Holacanthus limbaughi Baldwin, 1963.
  • King angelfish, Holacanthus passer Valenciennes, 1846.
  • Rock beauty, Holacanthus tricolor (Bloch, 1795).
• Genus Pomacanthus
  • Blue ring angelfish, Pomacanthus annularis (Bloch, 1787).
  • Gray angelfish, Pomacanthus arcuatus (Linnaeus, 1758).
  • Arabian angelfish, Pomacanthus asfur (Forsskål, 1775).
  • Goldtail angelfish, Pomacanthus chrysurus (Cuvier, 1831).
  • Emperor angelfish, Pomacanthus imperator (Bloch, 1787).
  • Yellowbar angelfish, Pomacanthus maculosus (Forsskål, 1775).
  • Bluegirdled angelfish, Pomacanthus navarchus (Cuvier, 1831).
  • French angelfish, Pomacanthus paru (Bloch, 1787).
  • Old woman angelfish, Pomacanthus rhomboides (Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908).
  • Semicircle angelfish, Pomacanthus semicirculatus (Cuvier, 1831).
  • Sixbar angelfish, Pomacanthus sexstriatus (Cuvier, 1831).
  • Yellowface angelfish, Pomacanthus xanthometopon (Bleeker, 1853).
  • Cortez angelfish, Pomacanthus zonipectus (Gill, 1862).
• Genus Pygoplites
  • Royal angelfish, Pygoplites diacanthus (Boddaert, 1772).

References

• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2005). "Pomacanthidae" in FishBase. November 2005 version.
• Marine Angelfish Marine Angelfish in the context of the home aquarium.