''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.

Description

''Pomacanthus asfur'' has a completely different colour and pattern as a juvenile from that of the adult. Juveniles have a blue body which is marked with pale-blue and white stripes. As they mature they develop yellow markings on their dorsal and caudal fins. Until as fully mature adults they have an overall dark blue body with a blackish face, a yellow caudal fin and a broad crescent-shaped yellow band running vertically across the flanks. The dorsal fin has 12 spines and 19–20 soft rays while the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

has 3 spines and 19–20 soft rays, the pectoral fins each contain 17 or 18 rays. This species attains a maximum total length of .

Distribution

''Pomacanthus asfur'' is principally found in the western Indian Ocean. Here it is found in the Red Sea and the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...

and along the coast of eastern Africa as far south as Zanzibar. It has been recorded, as a probable release of aquarium specimens, on a few occasions off the eastern coast of Florida and from Malta.

Habitat and biology

''Pomacanthus asfur'' has been recorded at depths between . It is a common species where there are relatively sheltered inshore reefs which have rich growth of soft and hard corals with a few patches of silty seabed. Their diet is dominated by

sponges Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through ...

and tunicates. It is a solitary and shy fish that divers find difficult to approach \and it is normally recorded near caves or crevices in the reef. This species is a protogynous hermaphrodite, the larger fish in a pair will change sex to become male.

Systematics

''Pomacanthus asfur'' had its first formal described published in 1775 by the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius (1745–1808) but it has commonly been attributed to Finnish born Swede Peter Forsskål (1732–1763) the type locality is given as Al-Luhayya in Yemen. Some authorities place this species in the

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

''Arusetta'', of which it is the type species The specific name ''asfur'' is this species Arabic name in Yemen.

Utilisation

''Pomacanthus asfur'' is infrequently found in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade. It has been bred in captivity and captive bred specimens are sometimes marketed as "half-moon angelfish".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1057470 asfur Marine fauna of Western Asia Fish described in 1775 Taxa named by Peter Forsskål Fish of Saudi Arabia