Pomacanthus paru
French Angelfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Pomacanthidae (Angelfishes)
Pomacanthus
Pomacanthus paru (French Angelfish)
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.)
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Characters
Oval in profile, deep bodied, and strongly compressed, with long filaments extending from dorsal and anal fins, scales irregular in size and shape. Dorsal profile of head is slightly convex. Snout is moderately blunt. Anterior naris has flap on posterior margin, and posterior naris is oval. Maxilla fails to reach anterior margin of orbit, and lower jaw extends beyond upper jaw. Margin of preoperculum has a series of very small spines on margin. Operculum has very broad, rounded process on margin. Gill rakers on first arch number 17 to 19. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 25%–33%, snout length 11%–12%, eye diameter 6%–9%, upper jaw length 7%–9%, pectoral fin length 24%–28%, body depth 73%–78%. Pectoral fin has 19 or 20 rays. Dorsal fin has 10 spines and 29 to 31 rays. Anal fin has 22 to 24 rays. Posterior margins of dorsal and anal fins are evenly convex. Caudal fin is rounded. Lateral line is moderately arched and extends to base of caudal fin.
Color is black except for golden yellow margins of scales on side of body. Base of pectoral fin has yellow blotch or bar, filament of dorsal fin is yellow, and caudal fin has dark margin. Juveniles are blackish to dark brown, with four yellow bands on head and body, a median yellow stripe on nape extending to upper lip, a circular black spot on caudal fin, and a yellow margin on caudal fin. Yellow bands may persist on small adults.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina and Bermuda to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles.
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Coral reefs and other hard substrates with vertical relief in shallow water
Biology
Juveniles clean other fishes of ectoparasites
Maximum known size is 400 mm TL
Common in shallow reefs. Usually in pairs, often near sea fans (Ref. 9710). Feed on sponges, algae, bryozoans, zoantharians, gorgonians and tunicates (Ref. 9626). Oviparous (Ref. 240), monogamous (Ref. 52884). Spawning pairs are strongly territorial, with usually both members vigorously defending their areas against neighboring pairs (Ref. 38726). Juveniles tend cleaning stations where they service a broad range of clients, including jacks, snappers, morays, grunts, surgeonfishes, and wrasses. At the station the cleaner displays a fluttering swimming and when cleaning it touches the clients with its pelvic fins (Ref. 40094). Flesh considered good quality; marketed fresh (Ref. 3797). Has been reared in captivity (Ref. 35419).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; mating system: monogamy; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. This species manifests apparent permanent pairing and monogamy. During most of the observation period, a single pair swam slowly in a side-to-side orientation at a height of 25 to 75 cm above the reef. No conspicuous courtship displays were evident, nor was there any evidence of sexual identity, i.e., the female was not obviously swollen with eggs. Shortly after sunset, the pair ascended in a broad, shallow arc off the bottom, traversing approximately 7 to 10 m while ascending to a height of 2 to 3 m. As the pair ascended, each angled its body slightly, with their venters in close proximity, if not actually touching. This position was held throughout the peak of the arc, with the pair diverging on the descent. Other pairs in the area were seen making similar arcing movements elsewhere on the reef at approximately the same time. It was difficult to see if there were gametes released in the event. There was no interference between pairs during spawning. Monogamous mating is observed as both obligate and social (Ref. 52884).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-10-08. Resilience: Low (K=0.12-0.21; tmax=27;).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941 (as Pomacanthus aureus)
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Haburay et al. 1969
Bright and Cashman 1974
Sonnier et al. 1976
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Burgess 1978
Burgess 2002b
Allen 1980
Matsuura 1983j
Robins and Ray 1986
Schaldach et al. 1997
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.
Allen, G.R. (1985) Butterfly and angelfishes of the world. Vol. 2. 3rd edit. in English. Mergus Publishers, Melle, Germany.
Maugé, L.A. (1990) Pomacanthidae. p. 841. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon, SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Feddern, H.A. (1968) Systematics and ecology of Western Atlantic angelfishes, family Chaetodontidae, with an analysis of hybridization in Holacanthus. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida.
Cervigón, F. (1993) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 2. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 497 p.
Vega-Cendejas, M.E., F. Arreguin-Sanchez and M. Hernandez (1993) Trophic fluxes on the Campeche Bank, Mexico. p. 206-213. In D. Pauly and V. Christensen (eds.) Trophic models of aquatic ecosystems. ICLARM Conf. Proc. 26.
Moyer, J.T., R.E. Thresher and P.L. Colin (1983) Courtship, spawning and inferred social organization of American angelfishes (genera Pomacanthus, Holacanthus and Centropyge: Pomacanthidae). Environ. Biol. Fishes 9(1):25-39.
Whiteman, E.A. and I.M. Côté (2004) Monogamy in marine fishes. Biol. Rev. 79:351-375.
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