| Skunk clownfish | |
|---|---|
| Amphriprion akallopisos with other unidentified fish in the sea anemone Stichodactyla mertensii in Madagascar. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Suborder: | Labroidei |
| Family: | Pomacentridae |
| Genus: | Amphiprion |
| Species: | A. akallopisos |
| Binomial name | |
| Amphiprion akallopisos (Bleeker, 1853) |
|
The skunk clownfish or nosestripe anemonefish, Amphiprion akallopisos, is an anemonefish (also called clownfish) that lives in association with sea anemones. A. akallopisos, like A. percula, is nearly always associated with Heteractis magnifica and Stichodactyla gigantea[1], and is found in the Indo-Pacific. It resides in shallow inshore reefs as deep as 15 m with a moderate to strong current. The skunk clownfish can also be kept in captivity by aquarists.
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The skunk clownfish is identified by a light orange color, with a single, narrow, white stripe running from the mouth to the caudal peduncle, and can grow as large as 11 cm in length.[2] Like other anemonefish, the skunk clownfish is a protandrous hemaphrodite, and maintains a hierarchy within the host anemone that consists of a mating pair, of which the female is the largest, and non-mating males which get progressively smaller in size.
The skunk clownfish, and other clownfish, use sound production to defend their territory. This behavior is most common with damselfishes that produce a wide variety of sounds,[1][2] a behavior shared with at least 10 species of anemonefish.[3][4] Sounds resembling pops and chirps are most commonly heard when interacting with invading fish of the same species or different species.[5][6] Studies have shown that it is the female that defends the anemone using sound production, as well as a physical charge when other fishes attempt to enter. A. akallopisos exhibit three different types of sounds, pops, short chirps, and long chirps, used depending on the type and duration of the encounter, which can also vary by locality.[7]