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Queen angelfish

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Queen angelfish
Adult queen angelfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Pomacanthidae
Genus: Holacanthus
Species:
H. ciliaris
Binomial name
Holacanthus ciliaris
Range of the queen angelfish
Synonyms[2]
  • Chaetodon ciliaris Linnaeus, 1758
  • Angelichthys ciliaris Linnaeus, 1758
  • Chaetodon squamulosus Shaw, 1796
  • Chaetodon parrae Bloch & Schneider, 1801
  • Holacanthus coronatus Desmarest, 1823
  • Holacanthus formosus Castelnau, 1855
  • Holacanthus iodocus Jordan & Rutter, 1897
  • Angelichthys iodocus Jordan & Rutter, 1897
  • Holacanthus lunatus Blosser, 1909

The queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris), also known as the blue angelfish, golden angelfish or yellow angelfish, is a species of marine angelfish found in the western Atlantic Ocean. It is a benthic (ocean floor) warm-water species that lives in coral reefs. It is recognized by its blue and yellow coloration and a distinctive spot or "crown" on its forehead. This crown distinguishes it from the closely related and similar looking Bermuda blue angelfish (Holacanthus bermudensis), with which it overlaps in range and can interbreed.

Adult queen angelfish are very selective feeders and primarily eat sponges. Their social structure consists of harems which include one male and up to four females. They live within a territory where the females forage separately and are tended to by the male. Breeding in the species correlates with the full moon. The female ascends the water column as the male swims below her with his snout touching her vent. Juveniles of the species have different coloration than adults and act as cleaner fish.

The queen angelfish is popular in the aquarium trade and has been a particularly common exported species in Brazil. In 2010, the queen angelfish was assessed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as wild population appeared to be stable.

Taxonomy

The queen angelfish was first formally described as Chaetodon ciliaris in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae with the type locality given as the "Western Atlantic/Caribbean".[3] The genus name Holacanthus was coined by French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1802[4] and is derived from the Ancient Greek words "holos" (full) and "akantha" (thorn).[2] Its specific name ciliaris means "fringed", a reference to its squamis ciliatis ("ciliate scales").[5] Other common names for the species include "blue angelfish", "golden angelfish" and "yellow angelfish".[6]

Marine angelfish of the genus Holacanthus likely originated between 10.2 and 7.6 mya. The most basal species is the Guinean angelfish (Holacanthus africanus) off the coast of West Africa, indicating that the lineage colonized the Atlantic from the Indian Ocean.[7] The closure of the Isthmus of Panama 3.5–3.1 mya led to the splitting off of the Tropical Eastern Pacific species.[8] The closest relative and sister species of the queen angelfish is the sympatric and similar Bermuda blue angelfish (H. bermudensis), which it split from around 1.5 mya.[7][8] They are known to interbreed—producing a hybrid known as the Townsend angelfish[9]—which has features intermediate between the parent species.[10] The Townsend angelfish is fertile and will breed both with other hybrids and with the two parent species.[11]

The following cladogram is based on molecular evidence:[7][8]

Townsend angelfish, a hybrid of queen and Bermuda blue angelfish
Holacanthus

Description

Frontal view of a queen angelfish with "crown" visible

The queen angelfish has a deep, compressed oval-shaped body with a short, blunt snout and a small mouth containing bristle-like teeth.[12] The dorsal fin contains 14 spines and 19–21 soft rays, and the anal fin has 3 spines and 20–21 soft rays.[2] This species attains a maximum total length of 45 cm (18 in) and weighs 1,600 g (56 oz).[2][6] Males may be larger than females.[13][14]

The species' distinctive coloration has been described as like it was "painted by someone trying to use all the colors in a new paint set". It has blue-green flank (side) scales with yellow edges; the tail and paired fins are bright-yellow, and the anal fins are orange-yellow. The back of the dorsal fin is tipped in orange-yellow, and the pectoral fins have large blue spots at the base.[13] On the forehead, above and behind the eyes, is an ocellated (eye-like) spot or "crown" with an electric blue ring surrounding a cobalt blue center with electric blue spots.[2][13] This crown is the main feature distinguishing the species from the Bermuda blue angelfish.[6][13] Juveniles are dark blue with bright blue vertical stripes and a yellow pectoral area. They resemble juvenile blue angelfish and are distinguished by more curved vertical stripes.[6] Growing juveniles develop transitional patterns as they reach their adult coloration.[13]

Juvenile angelfish closer to adult coloration

Seven other color morphs have been recorded off the coast of the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, Brazil. These include a bright-orange gold morph, an all-white morph, a white morph with orange and black blotches, a bright blue morph that has a pale caudal fin, a yellow-faced bright blue morph with a pale caudal fin, a bright blue morph with both the pectorals and caudal fin yellow, and a bright blue morph with black-and-white pectoral/caudal fins and white mouth and operculum.[15] Another color morph was recorded off Dry Tortugas, Florida, in 2009. This fish was mostly cobalt blue with white pectoral, pelvic and caudal fins. The snout and operculum area had mottled cobalt blue and white coloration, and the dorsal and anal fins were deep yellow-orange and white.[16]

Ecology

Angefish at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo, Florida

Queen angelfish are found in tropical areas of the Western Atlantic Ocean. They occur from Florida south through the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico to the coast of Brazil. Its range extends as far east as Bermuda and the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago.[1] Queen angelfish are benthic[6] and live on offshore reefs among both hard and soft corals. They can be found at depths as shallow as 2 m (6 ft 7 in) to as deep as 70 m (230 ft).[17]

As adults, queen angelfish feed mainly on sponges but also consume algae, hydroids, bryozoans and tunicates.[17] Juveniles act as cleaner fish and set up cleaning stations where they pick ectoparasites off bigger fish.[6] Off St. Thomas Island and Salvador, Bahia, 90% of the diet of adults are sponges. Off the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, more than 30 prey species may be consumed, 68% being sponges, 25% being algae, and 5% being bryozoans. Queen angelfish appear to be highly selective feeders as the proportion of prey in their diet does not match that of the benthic community they inhabit. On the species level, the angelfish of the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago prefer the less common sponges Geodia neptuni, Erylus latens, Clathria calla and Asteropus niger.[18]

Life cycle

A pair of angelfish off Belize

Queen angelfish live in harems consisting of one male and two to four females within a large territory.[14] Little is known about the sexual development of the species, though they are presumed to be protogynous hermaphrodites. If a harem male disappears, the largest female may change sex.[11] Around midday, the females forage separately in different locations. The male tends to each of them, rushing at, circling and feeding next to them.[14] Spawning in this species occurs year-round.[19] It is observed around sunset and both before and after a full moon.[14]

Courtship involves the male displaying his side to the female and slightly flicking his pectoral fins outwardly at intervals lasting a few seconds. At the beginning of spawning, the female ascends the water column as the male swims below her with his snout touching her vent.[14] They then release their eggs and semen into the water. The female can discharge between 25 and 75 thousand eggs in an evening.[6] After spawning, the pair separate and head for the bottom, where the female may nip and chase the male.[11]

The transparent eggs are pelagic and float in the water, hatching after 15–20 hours. The initial larvae have a large yolk sac and lack functional eyes, gut or fins, but after 48 hours, the yolk is absorbed, and the larvae have more of a resemblance to fish. These larvae feed on plankton in the water column and grow rapidly. Between three and four weeks after hatching, when they have reached a length of 15 to 20 mm (0.6 to 0.8 in), they settle on the floor as juveniles. They live alone and in territories in and around finger sponges and coral. Within these territories, juveniles establish cleaning stations for other fish.[6] The queen angelfish may reach adulthood after six months.[20]

Human interactions

Angelfish at aquarium in Barcelona, Spain.

Queen angelfish are not normally eaten nor are they commercially fished. They are captured mostly for the aquarium trade, where they are highly valued.[21] As juveniles, angelfish can be conditioned to accept typical aquarium food and hence have a higher extended survival rate than individuals taken as adults, which have a more specialized diet.[22] This species requires a controlled level of water quality and lighting and proper feeding to maintain their vibrant colors. With poor husbandry, queen angelfish lose their blue colors and become yellow. Keeping the species requires at least a 1,000 mm × 600 mm × 600 mm (39 in × 24 in × 24 in) sized tank and water with a pH of 7.8, a KH over 8, a temperature of 24–26 °C (75–79 °F) and zero levels of ammonia and nitrate.[20]

Throughout the 1990s, the dockside price for an individual fish averaged from US$11.16 to $17.84 in Florida. The retail price for the species may range from US$60 to $130.[21] The queen angelfish is the most frequently exported angelfish species from Brazil.[1] From 1995 to 2000, 43,730 fish were traded at Fortaleza in the northeast of the country. In 1995, the queen and French angelfish were nearly 75% of marine ornamental fish traded.[23] In 2010, the queen angelfish was assessed as least concern by the IUCN, as the species is not harvested too much in its range (aside from Brazil) and the wild population appears to be stable.[1]

Queen angelfish have been caught in the eastern Adriatic Sea, off Croatia, in 2011, and the Mediterranean Sea, off Malta, in 2020. These are likely introductions from the aquarium industry and not natural colonizations.[24] In 2015, an aquarium-introduced angelfish was caught in the Red Sea at Eilat's Coral Beach, Israel. The bacterium Photobacterium damselae piscicida, which was not previously documented in Red Sea fish, was isolated from its kidney, raising concerns that it could infect native fish.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Pyle, R.; Myers, R. F.; Rocha, L. A.; Craig, M. T. (2010). "Holacanthus ciliaris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T165883A6156566. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165883A6156566.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Holacanthus ciliaris". FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Holacanthus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Holacanthus Lacepède, 1802". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  5. ^ Scharpf, Christopher; Lazara, Kenneth J. (21 July 2020). "Order Acanthuriformes (Part 1): Families Lobotidae, Pomacanthidae, Drepaneidae and Chaetodontidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Holacanthus ciliaris". Discover Fish. Florida Museum. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Alva-Campbell, Y.; Floeter, S. R.; Robertson, D. R.; Bellwood, D. R.; Bernardi, G. (2010). "Molecular phylogenetics and evolution of Holacanthus angelfishes (Pomacanthidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 56 (1): 456–461. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.02.014. PMID 20171293.
  8. ^ a b c Tariel, J.; Longo, G. C.; Bernardi, G. (2016). "Tempo and mode of speciation in Holacanthus angelfishes based on RADseq markers". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 98: 84–88. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.01.010. PMID 26876637.
  9. ^ Reyes-Bonilla, H.; Alvarez-Filip, F.; Sánchez-Alcántara, I. (2010). "New records of the Townsend angelfish (Holacanthus bermudensis X H. ciliaris hybrid) and range extension of the Blue angelfish (H. bermudensis) in the Caribbean Sea". Caribbean Journal of Science. 46 (2–3): 339–345. doi:10.18475/cjos.v46i2.a24. S2CID 130966144.
  10. ^ Feddern, H. (1968). "Hybridization between the western Atlantic angelfishes, Holacanthus isabelita and H. ciliaris" (PDF). Bulletin of Marine Science. 18 (2): 351–382.
  11. ^ a b c Deloach, Ned; Deloach, Anne (2019). Reef Fish Behavior: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas (2nd ed.). New World Publications. pp. 175–176, 180–181. ISBN 978-1878348685.
  12. ^ "Species: Holacanthus ciliaris, Blue angelfish". Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d e Snyder, David B.; Burgess, George H. (2016). Marine Fishes of Florida. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 221–224. ISBN 978-1421418728.
  14. ^ a b c d e Moyer, J. T.; Thresher, R. E.; Colin, P. L. (1983). "Courtship, spawning and inferred social organization of American angelfishes (Genera Pornacanthus, Holacanthus and Centropyge; Pomacanthidae)". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 9 (1): 25–39. doi:10.1007/BF00001056. S2CID 25999869.
  15. ^ Luiz, O. J. Jr (2003). "Colour Morphs in a Queen Angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris (Perciformes: Pomacanthidae) population of St. Paul's Rocks, NE Brazil". Tropical Fish Hobbyist. 51 (5): 81–90.
  16. ^ Feeley, M.; Luiz, O. J. Jr; Zurcher, N. (2009). "Colour morph of a probable queen angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris from Dry Tortugas, Florida". Journal of Fish Biology. 74 (10): 2415–2421. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02259.x. PMID 20735563.
  17. ^ a b Allen, Gerald R.; Steene, Roger; Allen, Mark (1998). A Guide to Angelfishes and Butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing. p. 206. ISBN 978-0966172010.
  18. ^ Reis, F.; Moraes, F.; Batista, D.; Villaça, R.; Aguiar, A.; Muricy, G. (2013). "Diet of the queen angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris (Pomacanthidae) in São Pedro e São Paulo Archipelago, Brazil". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 93 (2): 453–460. doi:10.1017/S0025315412001099. S2CID 87827468.
  19. ^ Nottingham, Mara C.; Feitosa Silva, José Roberto; de Araújo, Maria Elisabeth (2003). "Morphology and Histology of the Testicles of Queen Angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris (Linnaeus, 1758) (Teleostei: Perciformes: Pomacanthidae)". Arquivos de Ciências do Mar. 36 (1–2): 89–94. doi:10.32360/acmar.v36i1-2.6602 (inactive 4 February 2022).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of February 2022 (link)
  20. ^ a b Endoh, Kiyoshi (2007). Angelfishes of the World. Ricordea Publishing. pp. 102, 117. ISBN 978-1-883693-26-8.
  21. ^ a b Larkin, S. L.; de Bodisco, C.; Degner, R. L. (2003). "Wholesale and Retail Break-Even Prices for MAC-Certified Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris)". In Cato, J. C.; Brown, C. L. (eds.). Marine Ornamental Species: Collection, Culture & Conservation. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 126. ISBN 978-0813829876.
  22. ^ Spotte, S. (1993). Marine Aquarium Keeping. Wiley. p. 87. ISBN 9780471594895.
  23. ^ Monteiro-Neto, C.; Cunha, F. E. A.; Nottingham, M. C.; Araújo, M. E.; Rosa, I. L.; Barros, G. M. L. (2003). "Analysis of the marine ornamental fish trade at Ceará State, northeast Brazil". Biodiversity and Conservation. 12 (6): 1287–1295. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.610.6568. doi:10.1023/A:1023096023733. S2CID 19814034.
  24. ^ Deidun, A.; Galdies, J.; Zava, B. (2020). "A bonanza of angelfish (Perciformes: Pomacanthidae) in the Mediterranean: the second documented record of Holacanthus ciliaris (Linnaeus, 1758)". BioInvasions Records. 9 (4): 827–833. doi:10.3391/bir.2020.9.4.16. S2CID 229615030.
  25. ^ Stern, N.; Rachmilovitz, E. N.; Sharon, G.; Diamant, A. (2016). "The dire implications of releasing marine ornamental fishes into the wild: first reported case from the Red Sea". Marine Biodiversity. 48 (3): 1615–1620. doi:10.1007/s12526-016-0600-4. S2CID 14359958.
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