Queen angelfish
Queen angelfish | |
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Adult | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Perciformes |
Family: | Pomacanthidae |
Genus: | Holacanthus |
Species: | H. ciliaris
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Binomial name | |
Holacanthus ciliaris | |
Range of the queen angelfish | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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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 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 occurs near a full moon. The transparent eggs float in the water until they hatch. Juveniles of the species have different coloration than adults and act as cleaner fish.
The queen angelfish is popular in the
Taxonomy
The queen angelfish was first
The following cladogram is based on molecular evidence:[7][8][12]
Holacanthus | |
Description
The queen angelfish has a broad, flattened, oval-shaped body with triangular tail fin, a reduced, dulled snout and a small mouth containing bristle-like teeth.[13][6] The dorsal fin contains 14 spines and 19–21 soft rays, and the anal fin has 3 spines and 20–21 soft rays.[2] The dorsal and anal fins both dangle behind the body.[6] This species attains a maximum total length of 45 cm (18 in) and weight of 1,600 g (56 oz).[2][6] Males may be larger than females.[14][15]
The species is covered in yellow-tipped blue-green scales, with a bright yellow tail, pectoral and pelvic fins. Both the dorsal and anal fins have orange-yellow end points, while the pectoral fins have blue patches at the base.[14] On the forehead is an eye-like spot or "crown" that is cobalt blue with an electric blue outer ring and dotted with electric blue spots.[2][6][14] This crown is the main feature distinguishing the species from the Bermuda blue angelfish. 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.[14]
Seven other color morphs have been recorded off the coast of the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, Brazil. The most commonly recorded is a mostly gold or bright orange morph. Other morphs may be bright blue with some yellow, black or white coloration or even all white.[16] Another color morph was recorded off Dry Tortugas, Florida, in 2009. This fish was mostly cobalt blue with white and yellow-orange colored areas.[17]
There are records of at least two wild queen angelfish at St. Peter and St. Paul with a "pughead" skeletal deformity, a squashed upper jaw and a lower jaw that sticks out. Such deformities mostly occur in captive fish.[18]
Ecology
Queen angelfish are found in
Queen angelfish eat
Life cycle
Male queen angelfish have large territories with a harem of two to four females.[15] Little is known about the sexual development of the species, though they are presumed to be protogynous hermaphrodites. The largest harem female may transform into a male if the territorial male disappears.[11] Around midday, the females forage individually in different locations. The male tends to each of them, rushing at, circling, and feeding next to them.[15] Spawning in this species occurs year-round.[20] It is observed sometime around a full moon.[15]
Courtship involves the male showing his side to the female and flicking his pectoral fins at her or "soaring" above them. At the beginning of spawning, the female swims towards the surface with the male swimming under her with his snout pressing against her vent.[15] They then deposit their eggs and semen into the water. The female discharges between 25 and 75 thousand eggs a day.[6] After spawning, the pair split and head to back to the ocean floor.[11]
The transparent eggs are pelagic and remain suspended in the water for 15–20 hours. The hatched larvae have a large yolk sac with no functional eyes, gut or fins, but two days later, the yolk is absorbed, and the larvae have more of a resemblance to fish. These larvae are plankton-eaters and grow quickly. Between the ages of three and four weeks old, when they have reached a length of 15 to 20 mm (0.6 to 0.8 in), they descend to the floor as juveniles. Juvenile angelfish live alone and in territories encompassing finger sponges and coral, where they establish cleaning stations for other fish.[6]
Human interactions
Queen angelfish are not normally eaten or commercially fished. They are captured mostly for the aquarium trade, where they are highly valued.[21] As juveniles, angelfish can adapt to eating typical aquarium food and hence have a higher survival rate than individuals taken as adults, which require a more specialized diet.[22]
In Brazil, the queen angelfish is the most common marine ornamental fish sold aboard.
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 found in the Red Sea at Eilat's Coral Beach, Israel. Its kidney was infected with the disease-causing bacterium Photobacterium damselae piscicida, which was not previously recorded in Red Sea fish, raising concerns that it could infect native fish.[25]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Fishbase. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Holacanthus Lacepède, 1802". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Holacanthus ciliaris". Discover Fish. Florida Museum. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ PMID 20171293.
- ^ S2CID 205840957.
- S2CID 130966144.
- ^ Feddern, H. (1968). "Hybridization between the western Atlantic angelfishes, Holacanthus isabelita and H. ciliaris" (PDF). Bulletin of Marine Science. 18 (2): 351–382.
- ^ ISBN 978-1878348685.
- S2CID 207745744.
- ^ "Species: Holacanthus ciliaris, Blue angelfish". Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1421418728.
- ^ S2CID 25999869.
- ^ 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.
- PMID 20735563.
- S2CID 43730987.
- S2CID 87827468.
- doi:10.32360/acmar.v36i1-2.6602 (inactive 31 January 2024).)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link - ISBN 978-0813829876.
- ISBN 9780471594895.
- S2CID 19814034.
- S2CID 229615030.
- S2CID 14359958.
External links
- Media related to Holacanthus ciliaris at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Queen angelfish at Wikispecies
- Photos of Queen angelfish on Sealife Collection