Rock beauty | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Acanthuriformes |
Family: | Pomacanthidae |
Genus: | Holacanthus |
Species: | H. tricolor |
Binomial name | |
Holacanthus tricolor (Bloch, 1795) | |
Synonyms [2] | |
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The rock beauty (Holacanthus tricolor), 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 rock beauty has a deep oval and strongly compressed body, with a short snout, ending in a small mouth equipped with bristle-like teeth. There is a large spine in the angle of the preopercle which has a serrated vertical edge. The bone lying between the preopercle and gill cover has 1–4 large spines. [3] The juveniles are yellowish on their body and fins, with a blue margined black spot on the upper posterior part of the body. As they mature into adults the spot grows, eventually covering most of the body and the lower part of the dorsal fin and the upper part of then anal fin. [4] The head and anterior quarter of the body are yellow, as are the pectoral, pelvic and caudal fins. The mouth is purple. [3] the front edge of the anal fin and margin of operculum are orange. In the eye there is vivid blue on the upper and lower portions of the iris. In the dorsal fin there are 14 spines and 17–19 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 18–20 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of 30 centimetres (12 in). [2]
The rock beauty is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean where it ranges from Bermuda and the waters off Georgia and Florida in southwards through the Caribbean Sea and along the coasts of South America as far as Rio de Janeiro. It is uncommon and localised in the Gulf of Mexico where it only occurs at the Flower Gardens Banks off Texas and off Veracruz and on the Campeche Bank in Mexico. [1]
The rock beauty is found at depths between 3 and 92 metres (10 and 300 ft). [1] They occur around jetties, rocky reefs and coral reefs, while the juveniles are often seen in areas of fire coral. [2] They feed largely on sponges but will also eat corals, zoantharians, bryozoans, gorgonians, [5] tunicates and algae.
The adults are normally encountered as pairs and appear to form long term monogamous pairs. These pairs frequently consist of a larger individual and a smaller one, possibly indicating sexual dimorphism, although there is no sexual dichromatism. During mating the pair ascends in the water column, with their abdomens close together while they release eggs and milt into the water. A female can lay between 25,000 and 75,000 eggs in an evening, and up to 10 million in a season. 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. After 48 hours the yolk is absorbed and the larvae have more of a resemblance to normal fish. These larvae feed on plankton in the water. They grow rapidly, and after around 3–4 weeks from hatching they settle on the substrate. They are highly territorial but, unlike some related species, they do not act as cleaner fish. Their diet is thought to be plankton, benthic invertebrates and the mucus secreted by other fish. [6]
The rock beauty was first formally described in 1795 as Chaetodon tricolor by the German physician and naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) with the type locality given as Brazil. [7] When Bernard Germain de Lacépède created the genus Holacanthus he used Chaetodon tricolor as the type species. [8] The species is placed by some authorities in the monotypic subgenus Holacanthus, all the others being in the subgenus Angelichthys. The specific name of this species, tricolor, refers to the three colour pattern of some adults which have a yellow front and black rear to the body with red fin margins. [9]
The rock beauty is one of the more popular Caribbean marine angelfish in the aquarium trade. [1] It has become available as a captive bred specimens in the 2020s. [10]
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.
The flameback angelfish, also known as the flameback pygmy angelfish, Brazilian flameback angelfish, Caribbean flameback angelfish or fireball angelfish, 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 reef butterflyfish. also known as the least butterflyfish, Atlantic butterflyfish, butterbun or school mistress, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish of the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Pomacanthus paru, also known by its common name the French angelfish, is a slow growing coral reef fish from the tropics with a distinctive and striking appearance. In terms of fish taxonomy, French Angelfish fall under the fish order of Perciformes and under the family Pomacanthidae, which contains other species of marine angelfish. The closest relative of the French Angelfish is the Gray angelfish, or Pomacanthus arcuatus.
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.
Holacanthus bermudensis, also known as the blue angelfish or Bermuda blue angelfish, is a species of ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It occurs 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 queen angelfish, 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 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, with which it overlaps in range and can interbreed.
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 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 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.
Chaetodontoplus meridithii, the Queensland yellowtail angelfish, Meredith's angelfish or yellow-finned angelfish, yellowtail angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found off eastern Australia.
Apolemichthys xanthurus, the Indian yellowtail angelfish, is a species of marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. Other common names include cream angelfish, smoke angelfish, and yellowtail black angelfish. It is found in the Indian Ocean.
Paracentropyge multifasciata, the barred angelfish, banded pygmy-angelfish, many-banded angelfish, multi-banded angelfish or multibarred angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish, belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific.
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.
Centropyge nox, known commonly as the midnight angelfish or dusky 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.
Chaetodon wiebeli, commonly known as the Hong Kong butterflyfish, Wiebel's butterflyfish or blackcap butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is native to the Western Pacific Ocean.
The Clarion angelfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, almost exclusively near islands off the Pacific coast of Mexico.
The Clipperton angelfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is endemic to Clipperton Island, a French possession in the eastern Pacific Ocean.