Three-band anemonefish

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Three-band anemonefish
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Family: Pomacentridae
Genus: Amphiprion
Species:
A. tricinctus
Binomial name
Amphiprion tricinctus
Schultz & Welander, 1953 [2]

The three-band anemonefish (Amphiprion tricinctus) is a species of anemonefish endemic to the Marshall Islands in the western part of the Pacific Ocean. Like all anemonefishes, it forms a symbiotic mutualism with sea anemones and is unaffected by the stinging tentacles of its host. It is a sequential hermaphrodite with a strict size-based dominance hierarchy; the female is largest, the breeding male is second largest, and the male nonbreeders get progressively smaller as the hierarchy descends. [3] They exhibit protandry, meaning the breeding male changes to female if the sole breeding female dies, with the largest nonbreeder becoming the breeding male. [4] The fish's natural diet includes zooplankton. [4]

Contents

Description

The body of A. tricinctus is yellow-orange at the snout, belly, and pelvic and anal fins, tending to dark brown or black at the tail. As the common name suggests, as an adult it has three white bands or bars. They can grow to be about 13 cm (5.1 in) long [4]

Color variations

As A. tricinctus is endemic to the Marshall Islands, no geographic variation is seen, bute variations to the proportions of orange and black occur, from predominately orange through to predominantly black and the occasional aberrant coloration. [5] Fish living with the host anemone Stichodactyla mertensii , Mertens' carpet sea anemone, are frequently black except for the snout and bars. [4]

Similar species

Two other species have three body bars and a dark tail, A. chrysogaster and A. fuscocaudatus, [4] but the species are geographically separated. Three other species of anemonefish are found in the Marshall Islands, A. chrysopterus, A. melanopus, and A. perideraion. [6] These are easily distinguished from A. tricinctus as A. chrysopterus has two body bars and a whitish caudal fin, A. melanopus only has a head bar, and A. perideraion has a distinctive white stripe on the dorsal ridge. [4] Genetic analysis has shown that A. tricinctus is closely related to A. clarkii and this clade is significantly different from the other species traditionally considered part of the A. clarkii complex. [7] [8]

Distribution and habitat

A. tricinctus is endemic to the Marshall Islands in the western part of the Pacific Ocean [4] and is found in lagoons and pinnacle and seaward reefs. Whilst it is most commonly found at depths of 3 to 40 m (9.8 to 131.2 ft), it is occasionally found hosted by solitary specimens of Entacmaea quadricolor on seaward reef slopes in excess of 40 m (130 ft) deep. [5]

Host anemones

The relationship between anemonefish and their host sea anemones is not random and instead is highly nested in structure. [9] A. tricinctus is highly generalised, being hosted by eight of the 9 host anemones found in the Marshall Islands. A. tricinctus is generally said to be associated with these species of anemone: [4] [7]

Many locations in the Marshall Islands have not been scientifically surveyed, [10] and A. tricinctus has been reported to be hosted by these species of anemone: [6]

Conservation status

Anemonefish and their host anemones are found on coral reefs and face similar environmental issues. Like corals, anemone's contain intracellular endosymbionts, zooxanthellae, and can suffer from bleaching due to triggers such as increased water temperature or acidification. Characteristics known to elevate the risk of extinction are small geographic range, small local population, and extreme habitat specialisation. [11] [12] A. tricinctus is an endemic species, confined to the Marshall Islands, and this species' ability to use a variety of anemone hosts is thought to reduce the risk of extinction associated with specialisation. [10]

In the aquarium

Specimens of A. tricinctus are occasionally for sale and the species has been bred in captivity. [13]

Notes

  1. ↑ The Marshall Islands are significantly outside the previously recorded range for M. doreensis, which is not otherwise reported east of New Guinea. [4]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Amphiprion mccullochi</i> Species of fish

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<i>Amphiprion latezonatus</i> Species of fish

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<i>Amphiprion chagosensis</i> Species of fish

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<i>Amphiprion chrysogaster</i> Species of fish

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<i>Amphiprion barberi</i> Species of fish

Amphiprion barberi, also known as fiji anemonefish a species of anemonefish that is found in the western Pacific Ocean. It was previously considered a geographic color variation of other anemonefish, initially Amphiprion rubrocinctus from 1972 and then Amphiprion melanopus from 1980 however further study and DNA sequencing resulted in A. barberi being described as a new species in 2008. Like all anemonefishes it forms a symbiotic mutualism with sea anemones and is unaffected by the stinging tentacles of the host anemone. It is a sequential hermaphrodite with a strict sized based dominance hierarchy: the female is largest, the breeding male is second largest, and the male non-breeders get progressively smaller as the hierarchy descends. They exhibit protandry, meaning the breeding male will change to female if the sole breeding female dies, with the largest non-breeder becomes the breeding male. The fish's natural diet includes zooplankton.

<i>Amphiprion latifasciatus</i> Species of fish

Amphiprion latifasciatus is a marine fish belonging to the family Pomacentridae, the clownfishes and damselfishes.

<i>Amphiprion leucokranos</i> Species of fish

Amphiprion leucokranos is a naturally occurring hybrid anemonefish found in the western central Pacific Ocean. Like all anemonefishes it forms a symbiotic mutualism with sea anemones and is unaffected by the stinging tentacles of the host anemone. It is a sequential hermaphrodite with a strict dominance hierarchy, features which are critical to the direction of gene flow.

Amphiprion thiellei is thought to be a naturally occurring hybrid anemonefish found in the vicinity of Cebu, Philippines. Like all anemonefishes it forms a symbiotic mutualism with sea anemones and is unaffected by the stinging tentacles of the host anemone. It is a sequential hermaphrodite with a strict dominance hierarchy.

References

  1. ↑ Jenkins, A.; Allen, G.; Myers, R.; Yeeting, B. & Carpenter, K.E. (2017). "Amphiprion tricinctus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T188620A1903556. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T188620A1903556.en .
  2. ↑ Schultz, L. P. (1953). "Review of the Indo-Pacific anemone fishes, genus Amphiprion, with descriptions of two new species". Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus. 103 (núm. 3323) (3323): 187–201, Pls. 9–10. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.103-3323.187.
  3. ↑ Buston PM (May 2004). "Territory inheritance in clownfish". Proc. Biol. Sci. 271 (Suppl 4): S252–4. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2003.0156. PMC   1810038 . PMID   15252999.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Fautin, Daphne G.; Allen, Gerald R. (1997). Field Guide to Anemone Fishes and Their Host Sea Anemones. Western Australian Museum. ISBN   9780730983651. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Marshall Islands - Amphiprion tricinctus". Kwajalein Underwater. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Marshall Islands - Anemones and their Inhabitants". Kwajalein Underwater. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  7. 1 2 Litsios, G.; Sims, C.; Wüest, R.; Pearman P.B.; Zimmermann, N.E.; Salamin N. (2012). "Mutualism with sea anemones triggered the adaptive radiation of clownfishes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 12 (11): 212. Bibcode:2012BMCEE..12..212L. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-12-212 . PMC   3532366 . PMID   23122007.
  8. ↑ DeAngelis, R. "What we really know about the diversity of Clownfish" . Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  9. ↑ Ollerton J; McCollin D; Fautin DG; Allen GR (2007). "Finding NEMO: nestedness engendered by mutualistic organization in anemonefish and their hosts". Proc R Soc B Biol Sci. 274 (1609): 591–598. doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3758. PMC   1766375 . PMID   17476781.
  10. 1 2 3 Hobbs J.-P.A.; Beger, M.; De Brauwer, M.; Emslie, M.J. (September 2014). "North-eastern range extension of the anemone Stichodactyla haddoni to the Marshall Islands represents a new record of host use by the endemic anemonefish Amphiprion tricinctus". Marine Biodiversity Records. 7 (Suppl 4). Bibcode:2014MBdR....7E.106H. doi:10.1017/S1755267214001055.
  11. ↑ Munday P.L. (2004). "Habitat loss, resource specialization, and extinction on coral reefs". Global Change Biology. 10 (10): 1642–1647. Bibcode:2004GCBio..10.1642M. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00839.x. S2CID   84725549.
  12. ↑ Hobbs J.-P.A.; Frisch A.J.; Ford B.M.; Thums M.; Saenz-Agudelo P.; Furby K.A.; Berumen M.L. (August 2013). "Taxonomic, spatial and temporal patterns of bleaching in anemones inhabited by anemonefishes". PLOS ONE. 8 (8): e70966. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...870966H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070966 . PMC   3738586 . PMID   23951056.
  13. ↑ "Three-band anemonefish". animal-world. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
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