Pomacanthus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous to Present [1] | |
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Gray angelfish, Pomacanthus arcuatus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Acanthuriformes |
Family: | Pomacanthidae |
Genus: | Pomacanthus Lacépède, 1802 |
Type species | |
Chaetodon arcuatus | |
Species | |
See text | |
Synonyms [2] | |
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Pomacanthus is a genus of marine angelfish that is usually found around reefs and coral. Some of the notable places one can see these vari-coloured fish includes the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Sipidan off the southern coast of Sabah, Malaysia. Generally the patterns and colors of these fish undergo a major transformation from juvenile to adult forms. The juveniles may even appear to be a different species.
The following 13 species are classified within the genus Pomacanthus: [3]
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
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Pomacanthus annularis (Bloch, 1787). | Bluering angelfish, | the Indo-West Pacific oceans from East Africa, throughout Indonesia and New Guinea to New Caledonia, north to southern Japan. | |
Pomacanthus arcuatus (Linnaeus, 1758). | Gray angelfish, | western Atlantic from New England to the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and also the Bahamas, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean, including the Antilles | |
Pomacanthus asfur (Forsskål, 1775). | Arabian angelfish, | the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to Zanzibar. It can be found also in the Persian Gulf. And Meditteranean | |
Pomacanthus chrysurus (Cuvier, 1831). | Goldtail angelfish, | western Indian Ocean (South Africa including Comoros, Seychelles and Madagascar) | |
Pomacanthus imperator (Bloch, 1787). | Emperor angelfish, | the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from the Red Sea to Hawaii,the Austral Islands and Mediterranean | |
Pomacanthus maculosus (Forsskål, 1775). | Yellowbar angelfish, | the Persian Gulf, the northwestern Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and meditteranean | |
Pomacanthus navarchus (Cuvier, 1831). | Blue-girdled angelfish, | the Indo-Pacific region | |
Pomacanthus paru (Bloch, 1787). | French angelfish, | western Atlantic from New York and the Bahamas to Brazil, and also the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, including the Antilles, Roatan, and the eastern Atlantic from around Ascension Island and St. Paul's Rocks | |
Pomacanthus rhomboides (Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908). | Old woman angelfish, | western Indian Ocean | |
Pomacanthus semicirculatus (Cuvier, 1831). | Semicircle angelfish, | east coast of Africa to Fiji and Japan, the east coast of Australia and New Caledonia. | |
Pomacanthus sexstriatus (Cuvier, 1831). | Sixbar angelfish, | South Pacific reefs, most commonly the Great Barrier Reef of Australia's north-east coast | |
Pomacanthus xanthometopon (Bleeker, 1853). | Yellowface angelfish, Blueface angelfish, | Maldive Islands, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, northern Australia and Micronesia | |
Pomacanthus zonipectus (Gill, 1862). | Cortez angelfish, | Eastern Pacific | |
The genus Pomacanthus was created in 1802 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède (1756-1825) with the type species being designated as Chaetodon arcuatus. [2] The name is a compound of poma meaning"lid" and acanthus which means "thorn", a reference to the prominents spine on the rear margin of the operculum, a feature shared by all the marine angelfishes. [4]
Some authorities divide the genus up into the following subgenera: [4]
Marine angelfish are perciform fish of the family Pomacanthidae. They are found on shallow reefs in the tropical Atlantic, Indian, and mostly western Pacific Oceans. The family contains seven genera and about 86 species. They should not be confused with the freshwater angelfish, tropical cichlids of the Amazon Basin.
Philibert Commerson, sometimes spelled Commerçon by contemporaries, was a French naturalist, best known for accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of circumnavigation in 1766–1769. The standard author abbreviation Comm. is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.
The emperor angelfish is a species of marine angelfish. It is a reef-associated fish, native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from the Red Sea to Hawaii and the Austral Islands. This species is generally associated with stable populations and faces no major threats of extinction. It is a favorite of photographers, artists, and aquarists because of its unique, brilliant pattern of coloration.
Pomacanthus paru, also known by its common name the French angelfish, is a slow growing coral reef fish from the Caribbean. The species is of the family Pomacanthidae, which contains other species of marine angelfish. Its closest relative is the grey angelfish.
The bluering angelfish, also known as the annularis angelfish and the blue king angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is member of the genus Pomacanthus, composed of large marine angelfish.
Genicanthus is a genus of marine angelfishes in the family Pomacanthidae. Known commonly as swallowtail or lyretail angelfish, these fishes are so-named for the distinctive shape of their tailfins. This genus of angels, in comparison to the other species found in hobby aquaria, are a good choice for beginners as they do not get nearly as large as some of the others. Another unique attribute is that swallowtail angels will tolerate each other and can be kept in pairs or as a single male with a harem, though it is typically best to add them to a tank at the same time. If added on by one, the angel which is added first may become aggressively territorial towards any new additions. Unlike others in the family Pomocanthidae, the angelfish species in the genus Genicanthus are generally considered to be reef safe. Also unlike most other members of the Pomacanthidae, those in Genicanthus are sexually dimorphic, meaning males and females are easily distinguishable. Fish in this species possess a small mouth relative to its size. This small mouth is well adapted for feeding on plankton in the water column. As planktivores, members of Genicanthus generally will not nip corals and sessile invertebrates.
The rock beauty, also known as corn sugar, coshubba, rock beasty, catalineta, and yellow nanny, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.
The gray angelfish, also written as grey angelfish and known in Jamaica as the pot cover, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the marine angelfish family, Pomacanthidae. It is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.
The sixbar angelfish, also known as the six banded angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in Indo-Pacific region.
The banded angelfish, also known as the bandit angelfish and three spine angelfish, is a distinctive species ray-finned fish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is endemic to deeper reefs in Hawaii and the Johnston Atoll.
Pomacanthus asfur, the Arabian angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the Western Indian Ocean.
Pomacanthus maculosus, the yellowbar angelfish, half-moon angelfish, yellow-marked angelfish, yellowband angelfish or yellow-blotched angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the western Indian Ocean and, more recently, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Pomacanthus zonipectus, the Cortez angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is from the Eastern Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.
Pomacanthus semicirculatus, also known as the semicircled angelfish, Koran angelfish, blue angelfish, zebra angelfish or half-circled angelfish, is a species of ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish, in the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.
Genicanthus lamarck, the blackstriped angelfish or Lamarck's angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It occurs in the Indo-West Pacific region.
Pomacanthus xanthometopon is a marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae found in shallow parts of the Indo-Pacific. It is commonly known as the blueface angelfish or the yellowface angelfish because of its striking facial colouration.
The goldtail angelfish, also known as the earspot angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the western Indian Ocean.
The old woman angelfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the western Indian Ocean.
Chaetodontoplus septentrionalis, the blue-striped angelfish and bluelined angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. it is found in the Western Pacific Ocean.
Apolemichthys xanthotis, the yellow-ear angelfish or Red Sea angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae.