Bermuda angelfish
| Bermuda angelfish | ||||||||||||
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Bermuda angelfish ( Holacanthus bermudensis ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Holacanthus bermudensis | ||||||||||||
| Goode , 1876 |
The Bermuda blue angelfish ( Holacanthus bermudensis , too) Bermuda Angelfish or Blue Angel fish called, is a fish species of the family of angelfish (Pomacanthidae). It occurs in the tropical west Atlantic from Bermuda over the Bahamas , the coast of southern Florida, to the Gulf of Mexico , south to the coast of Yucatan .
features
The Bermuda angelfish reach an average length of 35 cm, the maximum length is 45 cm. It has a high-backed, laterally strongly flattened, blue-greenish colored body and is very similar to its closest relative, the Queen Angelfish ( Holacanthus ciliaris ). However, the bright blue ring around the dark spot on the forehead is missing. The soft-rayed sections of the dorsal and anal fin, as well as the caudal fin have broad yellow edges.
However, their young are completely different in color. Young Bermuda angelfish are dark blue with a yellow caudal fin and slightly yellow on the rest of the fins. In addition, they show vertical blue stripes on the sides of the body. With age, the stripes fade, the body color becomes lighter, and the brown and green hues develop.
Way of life
Bermuda angelfish live in rock and coral reefs at depths of one to about 90 meters. Usually the fish are observed at depths of 5 to 25 meters. Young fish prefer protected areas such as inner reefs . Bermuda angelfish feed mainly on sponges , but tunicates , jellyfish , coral polyps , plankton , worms, small crustaceans and algae are also eaten. Eggs and larvae are pelagic . The juvenile fish pass over to the reef-related life of the adult fish with a length of two centimeters.
The Bermuda angelfish hybridizes with the queen angelfish ( Holacanthus ciliaris ). The hybrids were erroneously described as a separate species in 1914 ( Holacanthus townsendi ).
literature
- Gerald R. Allen : Butterfly and Angelfish, Volume 2 . Mergus Verlag, 1979, ISBN 3-88244-002-3
- Baensch / Patzner: Mergus Sea Water Atlas Volume 6 Non-Perciformes , Mergus-Verlag, Melle, 1998, ISBN 3-88244-116-X
Web links
- Holacanthus bermudensis on Fishbase.org (English)