Holacanthus tricolor
Rock Beauty
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Pomacanthidae (Angelfishes)
Holacanthus
Holacanthus tricolor (Rock Beauty)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Subrhomboid in profile, deep bodied, and strongly compressed, with short filaments extending from dorsal and anal fins. Dorsal profile of head is straight to slightly convex. Snout is moderately blunt. Anterior naris has flap on posterior margin, and posterior naris is elongated. Margin of preorbital bone is serrated. Maxilla fails to reach anterior margin of orbit. Margin of preoperculum has series of small spines on margin. Operculum has a very broad, triangular spine on margin. Gill rakers on first arch number 17 to 20. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 27%–34%, snout length about 10%, eye diameter 6%–10%, upper jaw length 7%–8%, pectoral fin length 21%–25%, body depth 53%–67%. Pectoral fin has 17 or 18 rays. Dorsal fin has 14 spines, with margin behind first 4 spines deeply incised, and 17 to 19 rays. Anal fin has 18 to 20 rays, with membrane between first 2 spines deeply incised. Caudal fin is rounded, with small filament extending from upper and lower rays. Lateral line extends to rear portion of dorsal fin and consists of 43 to 46 pored scales.
Head, nape, and anterior part of body are bright yellow; lips and remainder of body are black. Posterior margins of dorsal and anal fins and entire caudal fin are bright yellow. Upper and lower sections of iris are bright blue. Pectoral fin and pelvic fin are yellow. Juveniles are yellow, with a large black spot surrounded by a blue ring below rayed section of dorsal fin. With growth, black coloration extends beyond spot until adult coloration is achieved.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina and Bermuda to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles.
Habitat Associations
Shallow water, associated with coral reefs and other hard structures. Depth range not specified.
Juveniles are associated with colonies of stinging coral (Millepora).
Biology
Maximum known size is 250 mm TL.
Inhabits rock jetties, rocky reefs and rich coral areas. Juveniles often associated with fire corals (Ref. 9710). Feeds on tunicates, sponges, zoantharians and algae. Marketed fresh (Ref. 3797).
Reproductive mode: protogyny; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Protogyny has been proposed for this species awaiting confirmation (Ref. 103751).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-10-08. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Bright and Cashman 1974
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Burgess 1978
Burgess 2002b
Allen 1980
Williams and Shipp 1980
Matsuura 1983j
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Burgess, W.E. (1978) Pomacanthidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). Vol. 3. [var. pag.] FAO, Rome.
Allen, G.R. (1985) Butterfly and angelfishes of the world. Vol. 2. 3rd edit. in English. Mergus Publishers, Melle, Germany.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
García-Cagide, A., R. Claro and B.V. Koshelev (1994) Reproducción. p. 187-262. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Inst. Oceanol. Acad. Cienc. Cuba. and Cen. Invest. Quintana Roo (CIQRO) México.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
Comments On Holacanthus tricolor