Genicanthus caudovittatus

Genicanthus caudovittatus
Female specimen
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Acanthuriformes
Family:	Pomacanthidae
Genus:	Genicanthus
Species:	G. caudovittatus
Binomial name
Genicanthus caudovittatus (Günther, 1860)
Synonyms [2]
Holacanthus caudovittatusGünther, 1860 Centropyge caudovittatus(Günther, 1860) Holacanthus zebra Sauvage, 1891 Holacanthus caudibicolorSauvage, 1891

Genicanthus caudovittatus, the zebra angelfish, swallowtail angelfish, and lyretail angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. ^[3] It is found in the Indian Ocean.

Description

Male specimen

Genicanthus caudovittatus shows sexual dichromatism, the males and females have differing colouration. The males are whitish-blue marked with vertical dark brown barring and a black band running along the middle of the dorsal fin base. The females are pale pinkish grey with a black band over the eye and a black band on the upper and lower margins of the caudal fin. Both sexes have a markedly forked caudal fin. ^[4] The dorsal fin contains 15 spines and 15–17 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 17–19 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in). ^[2]

Distribution

Genicanthus caudovittatus is distributed in western Indian Ocean where it occurs along the eastern coast of Africa from the Red Sea in the north to KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, east to Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, and Réunion. It has also been recorded from Weh Island off northwestern Sumatra. ^[1]

Habitat and biology

Genicanthus caudovittatus is found at depths between 15 and 70 metres (49 and 230 ft). ^[1] In the Red Sea it can be found in shallower water than in the Andaman Sea. ^[2] It can be found on steep outer reef slopes where it lives in small groups made up of a male and a few females. It feeds on plankton. ^[1] Juveniles live at greater depth than the adults. ^[5]

Systematics

Genicanthus caudovittatus was first formally described in 1860 as Holocanthus caudovittatus by the German-born British ichthyologist and herpetologist Albert Günther (1830–1914) with the type locality given as Mauritius. ^[6] The specific name is a compound of caudus meaning "tail" and vittatus meaning "banded", referring to the black markings on the tail. ^[7]

Utilisation

Genicanthus caudovittatus occasionally appears in the aquarium trade. ^[1]

References

1. Pyle, R.; Myers, R.F.; Craig, M.T. (2010). "Genicanthus caudovittatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010 e.T165845A6147130. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165845A6147130.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Genicanthus caudovittatus". FishBase . December 2019 version.
3. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Genicanthus caudovittatus (Günther, 1860)" . Retrieved 8 January 2015.
4. "Genicanthus caudovittatus". Saltcorner!. Bob Goemans. 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
5. Eran Brokovich; Shai Enbinder; Salit Kark & Nadav Shashar (2012). "A deep nursery for juveniles of the zebra angelfish Genicanthus caudovittatus". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 80 (1): 1–6. doi:10.1007/s10641-006-9160-y.
6. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Genicanthus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 14 February 2021.
7. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (21 July 2020). "Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 1): Families LOBOTIDAE, POMACANTHIDAE, DREPANEIDAE and CHAETODONTIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 14 February 2021.

External links

• Photos of Genicanthus caudovittatus in the Sealife Collection