Centropyge bicolor
Bicolor Angelfish
©John Sear: Cabbage Tree Bay, Sydney.
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Actinopterygii
Order
Perciformes
Family
Pomacanthidae
Genus
Centropyge
Species
Centropyge bicolor
Colours
Distinguishing features
A small to medium sized fish with bright yellow front half and tail, and an deep blue rear half plus a blue "cap" over the head.
Size
- Up to 15 cm (Standard length)
Depth range
- Depth range data is not yet available.
Synonyms
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
Distribution and habitat preferences
Patches of rubble adjacent to areas of coral on reef slopes and channels.
Found mainly on exposed and semi-exposed reef slopes below 5m.
Behaviour
The Bicolor Angelfish is a benthic omnivore, taking algae, crustaceans, worms and other invertebrates from the reef and rubble areas that it inhabits. This species is a haremic protogynous hermaphrodite. Males maintain a harem of 1-4 females and several immature females throughout the year, and defend the harem territory from other neighbouring males. Mating occurs during the warmer months of November to March.
Web resources
References
- Aldenhoven, J.M. (1986). Different reproductive strategies in a sex-changing coral reef fish Centropyge bicolor (Pomacanthidae), Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 37: 353-60. LIRS catalog number 197.
- Bellwood, D.R., L. van Herwerden and N. Konow (2004). Evolution and biogeography of marine angelfishes (Pisces: Pomacanthidae), Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 33: 140-155. LIRS catalog number 873.
- Eagle, J.V. and G.P. Jones (2004). Mimicry in coral reef fishes: ecological and behavioural responses of a mimic to its model, Journal of Zoology, London, 264: 33-43. LIRS catalog number 90079.
- View all references