Flameback angelfish

The flameback angelfish has an oval, deep and laterally compressed body with a short, blunt snout and a small mouth. There is a long, robust spine at the angle of the preopercle with vertical margin serrated. To the rear of the bone below the eye there are 2 large, rear-pointing spines and a series of smaller spines on the preopercle and on the opercle.{{cite web | url = https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/3851 | title = Species: Centropyge aurantonotus, the Flameback angelfish | accessdate = 18 January 2021| publisher = Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute | work = Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information}} It has a mainly blue body with the head and dorsal region being bright, golden yellow. It also has a blue ring around the eyes.{{cite web | url = http://www.saltcorner.com/AquariumLibrary/browsespecies.php?CritterID=46&filter=0 | title = Centropyge aurantonotus | accessdate = 18 January 2021 | publisher = Bob Goemans | year = 2012 | work = Saltcorner!}} The caudal and the anal fins are dark blue marked with many black spots.{{FishBase|Centropyge|aurantonotus|month=December|year=2019}} The dorsal fin contains 14-15 spines and 15-16 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 17 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of {{convert|7.5|cm|in}}.

The flameback angelfish is found in the tropical Western Atlantic Ocean. It occurs from the Lesser Antilles and Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles and along the northern coast of South America from Venezuela to southern Brazil. It has been recorded in the easatern Atlantic at São Tomé in the Gulf of Guinea.{{cite journal | author1 = Wirtz, Peter | author2 = Ferreira, C. | author3 = Floeter, S. | author4 = Fricke, Ronald | author5 = Gasparini, João | author6 = Iwamoto, Tomio | author7 = Rocha, Luiz | author8 = Sampaio, Cláudio | author9 = Schliewen, Ulrich | display-authors = 3 | year = 2007 | title = Coastal Fishes Of São Tomé And Príncipe Islands, Gulf Of Guinea (Eastern Atlantic Ocean) — An Update | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 1523 | pages = 1–48 | doi = 10.5281/zenodo.177470}}

The flameback angelfish is found. At depths of between {{convert|15|and|300|m|ft}} where it is found in areas of reef and rock rubble. It may also be common around isolated patches of staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis). It feels on algae and sponges. Like other angelfish the flameback angelfish lays pelagic eggs and has pelagic larvae.

The flameback angelfish was first formally described in 1974 by Warren E. Burgess with the type locality given as off Oistins in Barbados.{{Cof genus | genus = Centropyge | access-date = 18 January 2021}} In some classifications it is placed in the subgenus Xiphipops.The specific name is a compound of aurantia meaning “orange” and notus meaning “back” and refers to the golden-orange back shown by this species.{{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 | accessdate = 18 January 2021 | date = 21 July 2020 | author1 = Christopher Scharpf | author2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}

The flameback angelfish is popular in the aquarium trade and in the 20th Century thousands were exported from Brazil.

{{Reflist}}

• {{ITIS |id=610459 |taxon=Centropyge aurantonotus |accessdate=6 June 2006}}
• {{FishBase | genus = Centropyge | species = aurantonotus | month = May | year = 2006}}

• [http://centropyge.net/flameback.html Centropyge.net info page]

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Flameback angelfish

Category:Fish described in 1974

Category:Taxa named by Warren E. Burgess

Category:Fish of Aruba