Marine Angelfish Codexery

Genicanthus personatus

Endemic to Hawaii, a rare angelfish with dramatic color changes.

Last updated

Genicanthus personatus

George Berninger Jr. · via Wikipedia: Genicanthus personatus · CC BY-SA 3.0

John Ernest Randall (1924–2020), an American ichthyologist, provided the first formal description of Genicanthus personatus in 1975, designating the type locality as Honolulu on Oahu.[1]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassActinopterygii
  4. DivisionTeleostei
  5. OrderAcanthuriformes
  6. FamilyPomacanthidae
  7. GenusGenicanthus
  8. SpeciesGenicanthus personatus

Named by Randall, 1975

Close relatives

Other species of Genicanthus with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Genicanthus personatus (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 279094 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

  1. LC▲ this species
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2010

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Genicanthus personatus and a personA 0.21 m long genicanthus personatus drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.21 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.21 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Genicanthus personatus

Where the genicanthus personatus has been recorded

Where the genicanthus personatus has been recorded12 mapped locations from 313 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: HonoluluHonolulu

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (313 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 1 inland record left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Biology and range

Over rocky reefs and on outer reef slopes, Genicanthus personatus inhabits depths ranging from 10 to 150 m.[2] At every life stage, this fish displays a predominantly brilliant white body color.[3] A large black patch covers most of the head in juvenile specimens.[3] As the fish matures, the black pigmentation on the head gradually diminishes.[3]

Sex change from female to male can occur once the fish reaches a length of 15 to 18 cm.[3] The maximum recorded total length for this species is 21 cm.[3]

What the specialist sources record

The Jake Adams account on reefs.com states that the masked angelfish was first discovered in 1972 from a single female specimen captured near Waikiki.[4] Adams reports that adolescent masked angelfish develop a mostly black tail and the black facial mask becomes punctuated with bluish white lips.[4] Adams notes that a fully grown female retains the mostly black tail, yellow pelvic fins, and a reduced black mask.[4] Adams describes that the male develops bright yellow-orange color on its pectoral fins, entire face, and fin edges.[4]

Adams states that the species has been bred only once in captivity and remains one of the most high profile marine aquarium fish.[4] The GBIF database lists 330 occurrence records for this taxon as of 8 October 2026.[5]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Genicanthus personatus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 1): Families LOBOTIDAE, POMACANTHIDAE, DREPANEIDAE and CHAETODONTIDAE", The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database, 21 July 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Genicanthus personatus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pyle, R., "Genicanthus personatus", 2010; "GENICANTHUS PERSONATUS - T.B.", De Jong Marine Life (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Genicanthus personatus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jake Adams, "Genicanthus personatus: The Masked Angelfish", reefs.com, 2016; (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Jake Adams, "Genicanthus personatus: The Masked Angelfish", reefs.com, 2016. facts only, no text reused. reefs.com
  5. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Genicanthus personatus (taxon key 2396452). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Genicanthus personatus (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Same family (Pomacanthidae)

Apolemichthys griffisi Apolemichthys griffisiApolemichthys xanthotis Apolemichthys xanthotisArabian angelfish Pomacanthus asfurBicolor angelfish Centropyge bicolorBlue velvet angelfish Centropyge deboraeCentropyge abei Centropyge abei

Named in this entry

GenicanthusHawaii

More in Marine Angelfish

Spotbreast angelfishGenicanthus spinusGenicanthus takeuchiiBlackedged angelfishGuinean angelfishHolacanthus bermudensisQueen angelfishClarion angelfishClipperton angelfishHolacanthus passerRock beautyPomacanthus annularis

Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. To which biological family does the Genicanthus personatus belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Pomacanthidae.

2. In what year was Genicanthus personatus first scientifically described?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1975.

3. Who first scientifically described the Genicanthus personatus?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is John Ernest Randall.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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