''Amphiprion sebae'', also known as the sebae clownfish, is an

anemonefish Clownfish or anemonefish are fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. Thirty species of clownfish are recognized: one in the genus '' Premnas'', while the remaining are in the genus '' Amphiprion''. In the wild, t ...

found in the northern

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

, from

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

to the Arabian Peninsula. Like all anemonefish it is usually found living in association with sea anemones. While the common name of ''

Heteractis crispa The sebae anemone (''Heteractis crispa''), also known as leathery sea anemone, long tentacle anemone, or purple tip anemone, is a species of sea anemone belonging to the family Stichodactylidae and native to the Indo-Pacific area. It was firs ...

'', the sebae anemone, suggests an association, it is normally found with the

Stichodactyla haddoni ''Stichodactyla haddoni'', commonly known as Haddon's sea anemone, is a species of sea anemone belonging to the family Stichodactylidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific area. Description ''S. haddoni'' is characterized by a folded oral disc t ...

or saddle anemone. ''A. sebae'', like all anemonefish, lives in a symbiotic relationship with the host anemone where the fish is unaffected by the stinging tentacles of the anemone. In a group of clownfish, Only two clownfish, a male and a female, in a group reproduce through

external fertilization External fertilization is a mode of reproduction in which a male organism's sperm fertilizes a female organism's egg outside of the female's body. It is contrasted with internal fertilization, in which sperm are introduced via insemination and then ...

. Clownfish are sequential hermaphrodites, changing from male to female, with a strict

dominance hierarchy In biology, a dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social groups interact, creating a ranking system. A dominant higher-ranking individual is so ...

and only the largest fish being female.

Description

The body of ''A. sebae'' is blackish or dark brown with a yellow snout, breast and belly. It has two broad white bars., with the mid-body bar angled backwards. The tail is yellow or orange. They have 10–11 dorsal spines, 2 anal spines, 14–17 dorsal soft rays and 13–14 anal soft rays. They can grow to .

Color variations

There is a melantistic variation where the fish lacks the yellow snout, breast and belly. It is not known whether this variation is associated with a species of anemone.

Similar species

''A. polymnus'' (Saddleback anemonefish) is similar, but can be distinguished by its characteristic black or dark wedge shape on the tail. There are reports of ''A. sabae'' being incorrectly labeled in the aquarium trade as ''A. clarkii'', however the similarities are superficial in that, while a melanistic variation of ''A. clarkii'' has similar color, ''A. clarkii'' lacks the characteristic sloping mid-band. Image:Clown Fish Aquarium.JPG, Melanistic variation of '' A. sebae'' (Sebae anemonefish) Image:Amphiprion Species.JPG, ''A. polymnus'' (Saddleback anemonefish) showing the characteristic wedge on the tail Image:Amphiprion clarkii Thailand.jpg, the superficially similar melanistic variation of ''A. clarkii'' lacking the characteristic sloping mid-band

Distribution and habitat

''A. sebae'' is found in the northern Indian Ocean, from Java to the Arabian Peninsula, including

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Sri Lanka, the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

, Sumatra, and the Andaman Islands.

Host anemones

''A. sebae'' is associated with the following species of anemone: *''

Life cycle

A study using estuarine water was done to look at captive breeding and larval rearing of the species ''Amphiprion sebae''. The male starts courting the female a week before they

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

. The male initiates maintenance of the site chosen for habitation. The female enters the nest to lay her eggs. About 300 to 600 eggs are laid. The males usually guard the eggs, which hatch after six to eight days. The yolk sac of the larvae was small. Between the third and fourth day they fed and their body shape changed. On days fifteen to eighteen in their life cycle they enter metamorphosis. Eggs When A. sebae eggs are recently fertilized, they are transparent (yellow/clear) with oil droplets. Amphiprion sebae eggs mature, they become bright yellow to orange color, the size of the eggs can range from length: 1.7- 2.6 mm and width: 0.8-1.3 mm.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1073281 Amphiprion Fish described in 1853