Gray angelfish
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| Pomacanthus arcuatus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
The gray angelfish, Pomacanthus arcuatus, is a large angelfish of the family Pomacanthidae, found in the western Atlantic from New England to the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and also the Bahamas, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean, including the Antilles, at depths of between 2 and 30 m. Length is up to 60 cm.
The gray angelfish is common in coral reefs, usually solitary, occasionally in pairs. Juveniles are part-time cleaners. It feeds mainly on sponges, but also takes tunicates, algae, zoantharians, gorgonians, hydroids, bryozoans, and seagrasses. Its flesh is reported to be of excellent quality and it is marketed fresh and salted. It is friendly toward divers and has been reared in captivity.
Coloration is pale gray around the mouth, with a pale gray margin on the caudal fin. The inside of the pectoral fin is yellow. Juveniles are black with two light yellow bars on the body and three on the head; the caudal fin is yellow with a vertically elongate, nearly rectangular or hemispherical black spot in the middle.
Reproduction is oviparous and members of this species are monogamous.
[edit] References
- "Pomacanthus arcuatus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. June 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
