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SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
COMMON NAME: queen angelfish
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Osteichthyes
ORDER: Perciformes
FAMILY: Pomacanthidae
GENUS SPECIES: Holacanthus ciliaris
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FAST FACTS
DESCRIPTION: Blue to greenish-blue ovoid body with yellow edging to mid and posterior scales. Pectoral, ventral, and caudal fins are yellow. Face is yellow save for the blue mouth. Distinctive dark blue oscellated spot on forehead. Dorsal and anal fins trail beyond body mass - as is seen in most angelfish. Solid, squared (truncate) caudal fin. Juvenile form consists of primarily dark blue body with multiple brilliant blue bars and yellow features (mouth, region from pectoral to ventral fins, and caudal fin). Additionally, mid-body bars are curved. Also, dorsal and anal fins are edged in brilliant blue.
SIZE: 20.3-35.6 cm (8-14 in) avg; 45.7 cm (18 in) max
WEIGHT: 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs) max
DIET: Primarily sponges, supplemented by algae, tunicates, hydroids, and bryozoans
INCUBATION: Species exhibits dioecism. Fertilization is external. Species is open water/substratum egg scatterer.
SEXUAL MATURITY: 22-24 cm in total body length
LIFE SPAN: No data
RANGE: Western Atlantic: Florida and Gulf of Mexico to Brazil, including Antilles
Eastern Central Atlantic: St. Paul's Rocks
HABITAT: 1-70 meters in tropical & sub-tropical coastal marine waters
POPULATION: GLOBAL No data
STATUS: IUCN Not listed
CITES Not listed
USFWS Not listed
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FUN FACTS
1. Juvenile form will symbiotically feed on ectoparasites found on other fish species.
2. For more information about bony fishes, explore the bony fishes info book.
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ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION

No data
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bond, Carl E. Biology of Fishes - Second Edition. Saunders College Publishing, 1996.
 
Humann, Paul. Reef Fish Identification - Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas. New World Publications, Inc., 1992.
 

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