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Blue-ringed Angelfish
Pomacanthus annularis (Bloch, 1787)
Above and below: A Blue-ringed Angelfish at a depth of 18m, Redang Island, Malaysia, 15 April 2001. View larger image.
A Blue-ringed Angelfish at a depth of 15m, Redang Island, Malaysia, 16 April 2001. View larger image.
Adult Blue-ringed Angelfish are yellow with distinct curved blue lines on the body and a blue ring above the gill cover. The tip of the dorsal fin is often elongate and the caudal fin is white with a yellow margin.
Juvenile Blue-ringed Angelfish are blueish-black with narrow white to blue curved bars on the body.
This species grows to 45cm in length.
Blue-ringed Angelfish inhabit coral reefs. They are commonly seen around caves, wrecks or jetties, and often in murky water. This fish is usually seen in pairs or as solitary individuals.
It is found in depths from 1m to 60m.
The Blue-ringed Angelfish feeds on sponges, sea squirts, salps and zooplankton.
It occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-West Pacific, from East Africa, north to Japan, south to Indonesia and east to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
It is not currently known from Australian waters, but may be present.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 220.
- Allen, G.R., Steene, R. & M. Allen. 1998. A Guide to Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. Pp. 250.
Copyright © Australian Museum, 2006
Page researched and compiled by
K. Parkinson & M. McGrouther, August 2003.
