:Queen angelfish

The queen angelfish was first described as Chaetodon ciliaris in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae, with the type locality given as the "Western Atlantic/Caribbean".{{Cof genus|genus=Holacanthus|access-date=21 February 2021}} In 1802 it was moved by French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède to the genus Holacanthus,{{cite web|title=Holacanthus Lacepède, 1802|url=http://marinespecies.org/aphia.php/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=159282|website=World Register of Marine Species|access-date=24 November 2021}} the name of which is derived from Ancient Greek ὅλος (hólos), meaning "full", and ἄκανθα (ákantha), meaning "spine". Its specific name ciliaris means "fringed", a reference to its squamis ciliatis ("ciliate scales").{{cite web|url=http://www.etyfish.org/acanthuriformes1/|title=Order Acanthuriformes (Part 1): Families Lobotidae, Pomacanthidae, Drepaneidae and Chaetodontidae|work=The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database|access-date=22 February 2021|date=21 July 2020|author1=Scharpf, Christopher|author2=Lazara, Kenneth J.}} Other common names for the species include "blue angelfish", "golden angelfish" and "yellow angelfish".

Marine angelfish of the genus Holacanthus likely emerged between 10.2 and 7.6 million years ago (mya). The most basal species is the Guinean angelfish (Holacanthus africanus) off the coast of West Africa, indicating that the lineage colonized the Atlantic from the Indian Ocean.{{cite journal|last1=Alva-Campbell|first1=Y.|last2=Floeter|first2=S. R.|last3=Robertson|first3=D. R.|last4=Bellwood|first4=D. R.|last5=Bernardi|first5=G.|year=2010|title=Molecular phylogenetics and evolution of Holacanthus angelfishes (Pomacanthidae)|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=56|issue=1|pages=456–461|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2010.02.014|pmid=20171293}} The closure of the Isthmus of Panama 3.5–3.1 mya led to the splitting off of the Tropical Eastern Pacific species.{{cite journal|last1=Tariel|first1=J.|last2=Longo|first2=G. C.|last3=Bernardi|first3=G.|year=2016|title=Tempo and mode of speciation in Holacanthus angelfishes based on RADseq markers|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=98|pages=84–88|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2016.01.010|pmid=26876637|bibcode=2016MolPE..98...84T |s2cid=205840957 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6rc066rf}} The closest relative and sister species of the queen angelfish is the sympatric and similar Bermuda blue angelfish (H. bermudensis), from which it split around 1.5 mya. They are known to interbreed, producing a hybrid known as the Townsend angelfish{{cite journal|last1=Reyes-Bonilla|first1=H.|last2=Alvarez-Filip|first2=F.|last3=Sánchez-Alcántara|first3=I.|year=2010|title=New records of the Townsend angelfish (Holacanthus bermudensis X H. ciliaris hybrid) and range extension of the Blue angelfish (H. bermudensis) in the Caribbean Sea|journal=Caribbean Journal of Science|volume=46|issue=2–3|pages=339–345|doi=10.18475/cjos.v46i2.a24|s2cid=130966144}} which has features similar to both parent species.{{cite journal|last=Feddern|first=H.|year=1968|title=Hybridization between the western Atlantic angelfishes, Holacanthus isabelita and H. ciliaris|journal=Bulletin of Marine Science|volume=18|issue=2|pages=351–382|url=https://www.mare2000.it/Pescimarino/Immagini/feddern.pdf}} The Townsend angelfish is fertile, and individuals can breed both with each other and with the two parent species.{{cite book|last1=Deloach|first1=Ned|last2=Deloach|first2=Anne|year=2019|title=Reef Fish Behavior: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas|publisher=New World Publications|pages=175–176, 180–181|edition=2nd|isbn=978-1878348685}}

The following cladogram is based on molecular evidence:{{cite journal|last1=Shen|first1=K-N|last2=Chang|first2=C-W|last3=Chen|first3=C-H|last4=Hsiao|first4=C-D|year=2015|title=Complete mitogenomes of King angelfish (Holacanthus passer) and Queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris) (Teleostei: Pomacanthidae)|journal=Mitochondrial DNA Part A |volume=27|issue=4|pages=2815–2816|doi=10.3109/19401736.2015.1053081|pmid=26119118|s2cid=207745744}}

{{Multiple image

| image1 = Townsend Angelfish imported from iNaturalist photo 450961911 on 6 December 2024 (cropped).jpg

| image2 = Townsend Angelfish hybrid.jpg

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| footer = Townsend angelfish (H. ciliaris x bermudensis) hybrid.
Juvenile (top), adult (bottom).

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{{clade

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|1=Rock beauty 70px

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|1=Bermuda blue angelfish 80px

|2=Queen angelfish 90px

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|1=Clarion angelfish 80px

|2=Clipperton angelfish 80px

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|2=King angelfish 80px

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|2=Guinean angelfish 80px

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File:Queen Angelfish Crown symbol.jpg

The queen angelfish has a broad, flattened, oval-shaped body with triangular tail fin, a reduced, dulled snout and a small mouth containing bristle-like teeth.{{cite web|url=https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/3853|title=Species: Holacanthus ciliaris, Blue angelfish|access-date=22 February 2021|work=Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information|publisher=Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute}} The dorsal fin contains 14 spines and 19–21 soft rays, and the anal fin has 3 spines and 20–21 soft rays. The dorsal and anal fins both dangle behind the body. This species attains a maximum total length of {{convert|45|cm|in|abbr=on}} and weight of {{convert|1600|g|abbr=on}}. Males may be larger than females.

The species is covered in yellow-tipped blue-green scales, with a bright yellow tail, pectoral and pelvic fins. Both the dorsal and anal fins have orange-yellow end points, while the pectoral fins have blue patches at the base.{{cite book|last1=Snyder|first1=David B.|last2=Burgess|first2=George H.|year=2016|title=Marine Fishes of Florida|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|pages=221–224|isbn=978-1421418728}} On the forehead is an eye-like spot or "crown" that is cobalt blue with an electric blue outer ring and dotted with electric blue spots. This crown is the main feature distinguishing the species from the Bermuda blue angelfish. Juveniles are dark blue with bright blue vertical stripes and a yellow pectoral area. They resemble juvenile blue angelfish and are distinguished by more curved vertical stripes. Growing juveniles develop transitional patterns as they reach their adult coloration.

{{Multiple image

| image1 = Queen Angelfish imported from iNaturalist photo 426060546 on 6 December 2024 (cropped).jpg

| image2 = Holacanthus ciliaris 438105892 (cropped).jpg

| image3 = Queen Angelfish imported from iNaturalist photo 293275377 on 6 December 2024.png

| image4 = Queen Angelfish imported from iNaturalist photo 252021990 on 6 December 2024.jpg

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| footer = Growth series (from youngest to oldest)

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Seven other color morphs have been recorded off the coast of the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, Brazil. The most commonly recorded is a mostly gold or bright orange morph. Other morphs may be bright blue with some yellow, black or white coloration or even all white.{{cite journal|last=Luiz|first=O. J. Jr|year=2003|title=Colour Morphs in a Queen Angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris (Perciformes: Pomacanthidae) population of St. Paul's Rocks, NE Brazil|journal=Tropical Fish Hobbyist|volume=51|issue=5|pages=81–90|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228387912}} Another color morph was recorded off Dry Tortugas, Florida, in 2009. This fish was mostly cobalt blue with white and yellow-orange colored areas.{{cite journal|last1=Feeley|first1=M.|last2=Luiz |first2=O. J. Jr|last3=Zurcher|first3=N.|year=2009|title=Colour morph of a probable queen angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris from Dry Tortugas, Florida|journal=Journal of Fish Biology|volume=74|issue=10|pages=2415–2421|doi=10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02259.x|pmid=20735563|bibcode=2009JFBio..74.2415F }}

There are records of at least two wild queen angelfish at St. Peter and St. Paul with a "pughead" skeletal deformity, a squashed upper jaw and a lower jaw that sticks out. Such deformities mostly occur in captive fish.{{cite journal|last1=Francini-Filho|first1=R. B.|last2=Amado-Filho|first2=G. M.|year=2012|title=First record of pughead skeletal deformity in the queen angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris (St. Peter and St. Paul Archipelago, Mid Atlantic Ridge, Brazil)|journal=Coral Reefs|volume=32|issue=211|page=211|doi=10.1007/s00338-012-0975-z|s2cid=43730987|doi-access=free}}

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File:Queen angelfish at their habitat.jpg, Key Largo, Florida]]

Queen angelfish are found in tropical and subtropical areas of the Western Atlantic Ocean around the coasts and islands of the Americas. They occur from Florida along the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea down to Brazil. Their range extends as far east as Bermuda and the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago. Queen angelfish are benthic or bottom-dwelling and occur from shallow waters close to shore down to {{convert|70|m|abbr=on}}. They live in coral reefs, preferring soft corals, and swim either alone or in pairs.

Queen angelfish eat sponges, tunicates, jellyfish, corals, plankton, and algae. Juveniles act as cleaner fish and establish and remove ectoparasites from bigger fish.{{cite web|url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/holacanthus-ciliaris/|title=Holacanthus ciliaris|access-date=22 February 2021|work=Discover Fish|date=10 May 2017|publisher=Florida Museum}} Off St. Thomas Island and Salvador, Bahia, 90% of the diet of adults is sponges. Off the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, more than 30 prey species may be consumed, 68% being sponges, 25% being algae, and 5% being bryozoans. Queen angelfish appear to be selective feeders as the proportion of prey in their diet does not correlate with their abundance. On the species level, the angelfish of the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago target the less common sponges Geodia neptuni, Erylus latens, Clathria calla, and Asteropus niger.{{cite journal|last1=Reis |first1=F.|last2=Moraes|first2=F.|last3=Batista|first3=D.|last4=Villaça|first4=R.|last5=Aguiar|first5=A.|last6=Muricy|first6=G.|year=2013|title=Diet of the queen angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris (Pomacanthidae) in São Pedro e São Paulo Archipelago, Brazil|journal=Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom|volume=93|issue=2|pages=453–460|doi=10.1017/S0025315412001099|bibcode=2013JMBUK..93..453R |s2cid=87827468}}

File:Belize 2016 - yP2010013 batch.jpg|alt=A pair off Belize, one turning away from the camera]]

Male queen angelfish have large territories with a harem of two to four females. Little is known about the sexual development of the species, though they are presumed to be protogynous hermaphrodites. The largest harem female may transform into a male if the territorial male disappears. Around midday, the females forage individually in different locations. The male tends to each of them, rushing at, circling, and feeding next to them. Spawning in this species occurs year-round.{{cite journal|last1=Nottingham|first1=Mara C.|last2=Feitosa Silva|first2=José Roberto|last3=de Araújo|first3=Maria Elisabeth|year=2003|title=Morphology and Histology of the Testicles of Queen Angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris (Linnaeus, 1758) (Teleostei: Perciformes: Pomacanthidae)|journal=Arquivos de Ciências do Mar|volume=36|issue=1–2|pages=89–94|doi=10.32360/acmar.v36i1-2.6602|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024}} It is observed sometime around a full moon.

Courtship involves the male showing his side to the female and flicking his pectoral fins at her or "soaring" above them. At the beginning of spawning, the female swims towards the surface with the male swimming under her with his snout pressing against her vent.{{cite journal|last1=Moyer|first1=J. T.|last2=Thresher|first2=R. E.|last3=Colin|first3=P. L.|year=1983|title=Courtship, spawning and inferred social organization of American angelfishes (Genera Pornacanthus, Holacanthus and Centropyge; Pomacanthidae)|journal=Environmental Biology of Fishes|volume=9|issue=1|pages=25–39|doi=10.1007/BF00001056|bibcode=1983EnvBF...9...25M |s2cid=25999869}} They then deposit their eggs and semen into the water. The female discharges between 25 and 75 thousand eggs a day. After spawning, the pair split and head to back to the ocean floor.

The transparent eggs are pelagic and remain suspended in the water for 15–20 hours. The hatched larvae have a large yolk sac with no functional eyes, gut or fins, but two days later, the yolk is absorbed, and the larvae have more of a resemblance to fish. These larvae are plankton-eaters and grow quickly. Between the ages of three and four weeks old, when they have reached a length of {{convert|15|to|20|mm|in|abbr=on|sigfig=1}}, they descend to the floor as juveniles. Juvenile angelfish live alone and in territories encompassing finger sponges and coral, where they establish cleaning stations for other fish.

File:Queen Angelfish 14-05-2009 15-24-48.JPG, Spain]]

Queen angelfish are not normally eaten or commercially fished. They are captured mostly for the aquarium trade, where they are highly valued.{{cite book|last1=Larkin|first1=S. L.|last2=de Bodisco|first2=C.|last3=Degner|first3=R. L.|contribution=Wholesale and Retail Break-Even Prices for MAC-Certified Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris)|year=2008|title=Marine Ornamental Species: Collection, Culture & Conservation|editor1=Cato, J. C.|editor2=Brown, C. L.|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|page=126|isbn=978-0813829876}} As juveniles, angelfish can adapt to eating typical aquarium food and hence have a higher survival rate than individuals taken as adults, which require a more specialized diet.{{cite book|last=Spotte, S.|year=1993|title=Marine Aquarium Keeping|publisher=Wiley|page=87|isbn=9780471594895}}

In Brazil, the queen angelfish is the most common marine ornamental fish sold aboard. From 1995 to 2000, 43,730 queen angelfish were traded at Fortaleza in the northeast of the country, and in 1995, 75% of marine fish sold were both queen and French angelfish.{{cite journal|last1=Monteiro-Neto|first1=C.|last2=Cunha|first2=F. E. A.|last3=Nottingham|first3=M. C.|last4=Araújo|first4=M. E.|last5=Rosa|first5=I. L.|last6=Barros|first6=G. M. L.|year=2003|title=Analysis of the marine ornamental fish trade at Ceará State, northeast Brazil|journal=Biodiversity and Conservation|volume=12|issue=6|pages=1287–1295|doi=10.1023/A:1023096023733|citeseerx=10.1.1.610.6568|s2cid=19814034}} In 2010, the queen angelfish was assessed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as the species is only significantly fished off Brazil and the wild population appeared to be secure.

Queen angelfish have been caught in the eastern Adriatic Sea, off Croatia, in 2011, and the Mediterranean Sea, off Malta, in 2020. These are likely introductions from the aquarium industry and not natural colonizations.{{cite journal|last1=Deidun|first1=A.|last2=Galdies|first2=J.|last3=Zava|first3=B.|year=2020|title=A bonanza of angelfish (Perciformes: Pomacanthidae) in the Mediterranean: the second documented record of Holacanthus ciliaris (Linnaeus, 1758)|journal=BioInvasions Records|volume=9|issue=4|pages=827–833|doi=10.3391/bir.2020.9.4.16|s2cid=229615030|doi-access=free}} In 2015, an aquarium-introduced angelfish was found in the Red Sea at Eilat's Coral Beach, Israel. Its kidney was infected with the disease-causing bacterium Photobacterium damselae piscicida, which was not previously recorded in Red Sea fish, raising concerns that it could infect native fish.{{cite journal|last1=Stern|first1=N.|last2=Rachmilovitz|first2=E. N.|last3=Sharon|first3=G.|last4=Diamant|first4=A.|year=2016|title=The dire implications of releasing marine ornamental fishes into the wild: first reported case from the Red Sea|journal=Marine Biodiversity|volume=48|issue=3|pages=1615–1620|doi=10.1007/s12526-016-0600-4|s2cid=14359958}}

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Queen angelfish

Category:Fish described in 1758

Category:Fish of the Western Atlantic

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus