Zebra angelfish

Lore & Background

Genicanthus caudovittatus shows sexual dichromatism: males are whitish-blue with vertical dark brown barring and a black band along the middle of the dorsal fin base, while females are pale pinkish grey with a black band over the eye and black bands on the upper and lower margins of the caudal fin. Both sexes have a markedly forked caudal fin. The dorsal fin contains 15 spines and 15–17 soft rays; the anal fin has 3 spines and 17–19 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of 20 centimetres.

It is distributed in the western Indian Ocean, along the eastern coast of Africa from the Red Sea to KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, and east to Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, and Réunion. It has also been recorded from Weh Island off northwestern Sumatra. It is found at depths between 15 and 70 metres, on steep outer reef slopes, living in small groups of one male and a few females. It feeds on plankton, and juveniles live at greater depth than adults.

The species was first formally described in 1860 as Holocanthus caudovittatus by Albert Günther, with the type locality given as Mauritius. The specific name is a compound of caudus ("tail") and vittatus ("banded"), referring to the black markings on the tail.

Reader's Guide

The zebra angelfish is a moderately sized marine angelfish of the Indian Ocean, distinguished by its sexual dichromatism and deeply forked tail. Its scientific name, Genicanthus caudovittatus, was coined by Albert Günther in 1860 based on a specimen from Mauritius, with the specific epithet referencing the black tail markings. The species inhabits steep outer reef slopes at depths of 15 to 70 metres, where it forms small harems of one male and several females. It feeds on plankton, and juveniles are found deeper than adults. In the Red Sea, it occurs in shallower water than in the Andaman Sea. The zebra angelfish occasionally appears in the aquarium trade, though it is not a common commercial species. Its distribution spans the western Indian Ocean from the Red Sea to South Africa, and east to Madagascar, the Maldives, Mauritius, Réunion, and Weh Island off Sumatra. The species is not known to be threatened, and no conservation status is mentioned in the source article.