The lemonpeel angelfish (''Centropyge flavissima''), also known as the yellow angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region.

Description

The lemonpeel angelfish is bright yellow in colour with a bluish or whitish ring surrounding the eye. There is a black blotch on the rear margin of the gill cover. The spine on the

preoperculum This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes. A B C ...

is blue and the dorsal, anal and

caudal 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 ...

s have blue margins. The juveniles have an ocellus on the flank which is black with blue edges. The dorsal fin contains 14 spines and 15-16 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 16 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of .

Distribution

The lemonpeel angelfish is found in the Indo-Pacific, the core of its distribution is in the Central Pacific from the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

and

Ogasawara Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic readi ...

of Southern Japan in the north, east to the Tuamotu Islands and south to Australia. It occurs around some Indian Ocean islands too. In Australia it occurs from the northern

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

south to Moreton Bay in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and the Solitary Islands in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. In addition, it is found off

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...

in the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

and the Australian Indian Ocean territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Records from some parts of the western Pacific Ocean are likely to refer to vagrants. It is absent from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and

Johnston Atoll Johnston Atoll is an Unincorporated territories of the United States, unincorporated territory of the United States, currently administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Johnston Atoll is a National Wildlife Refuge and ...

Habitat and biology

The lemonpeel angelfish is found in shallow water, typically shallower than , in areas richness coral growth in lagoons and seaward reefs. The juveniles are more secretive then the adults. They are normally encountered in small groups, a harem of a single male and several females. This species is a protogynous hermaphrodite and if there is no male in the group the dominant female may change to a male, and this change can be reversed. It feeds mainly on filamentous

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

Systematics

The lemonpeel angelfish was first formally described as ''Holocanthus flavissimus'' in 1831 by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

anatomist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) with the type locality given as Uléa in the Caroline Islands. The specific name ''flavissima'' means “very yellow” referring to its colour. Within the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

'' Centropyge'' this species is considered, by some authorities, to be 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 ...

''Centropyge''.

Utilisation

The lemonpeel angelfish is common in the aquarium trade.

References

External links

Centropyge.net info page

Reefpedia.com info page
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q206436 Lemonpeel angelfish Fish described in 1831 Taxa named by Georges Cuvier