Greytail angelfish (Chaetodontoplus poliourus)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Teleostei · Order: Acanthuriformes · Family: Pomacanthidae · Genus: Chaetodontoplus.

Accepted name: Chaetodontoplus poliourus · Authority: Randall & Rocha, 2009 · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 712746.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=712746 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

Measured values published by FishBase for Chaetodontoplus poliourus. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 8.600000381469727 cm · Depth range: 1–20 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated · Body shape: short and / or deep · Vulnerability index: 10 of 100 · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.

FishBase notes: Very close to Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus (Bloch, 1787) with different colors on pelvic, dorsal and caudal fins. The two species coexist in several islands of Indonesia (Ref. 82330). These islands include Lesser Sunda Islands. Molucca Islands, Halmahera, and Bird's Nest Peninsula of West Papua (Ref. 90102).

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 65526) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Chaetodontoplus-poliourus.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

84 georeferenced occurrence records for Chaetodontoplus poliourus are published through GBIF from 6 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 28 distinct locations from a sample of 84 records, omitting 7 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: Indonesia (35); Solomon Islands (18); Palau (17); Papua New Guinea (12); Spain (1); Philippines (1).

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 5788049) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=5788049&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=712746 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Chaetodontoplus poliourus Randall & Rocha, 2009 as Least Concern (code LC). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 168374) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/168374/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 5788049) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/5788049/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-25.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Chaetodontoplus poliourus was first described by John Ernest Randall and Luiz A. Rocha in 2009; the species holotype was taken from the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. It is a marine angelfish (family Pomacanthidae) of the class Actinopterygii.

This species is very similar to the closely related species Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus, the vermiculate angelfish. They are differentiated by the color of the caudal fin, which is yellow in C. mesoleucus and grey with a yellow margin in C. poliourus. The range of the two fishes overlaps in parts of Indonesia.

This fish occurs in reefs in the western Pacific Ocean. It is found in Papua New Guinea, Palau, the Solomon Islands, and parts of Indonesia, including the Lesser Sunda Islands, the Molucca Islands, Halmahera, and West Papua.

The fish's color gradually transitions from yellow at the head to light gray before becoming dark brown with white spots at the rear of the body. It has a black ocular bar, yellow chest, blue lips, yellow pelvic fins, grey pectoral fins; the dorsal fin begins yellow and becomes dark brown. The caudal fin, as the fish's common name, "greytail angelfish", suggests, is grey, with a yellow margin.

The dorsal fin has 12 spines and 17 soft rays. The anal fin has 3 spines and 16–17 soft rays. The fish reaches a maximum of 8.6 centimetres in standard length.

C. poliourus lives in depths of 2–25 metres in coral reefs. It prefers calm waters such as lagoons with silty substrate. It is assessed as a least concern species by the IUCN Red List due to its broad range and lack of apparent major threats to the species. It is occasionally collected for the aquarium trade.

Source: Wikipedia: Chaetodontoplus poliourus — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaetodontoplus_poliourus (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.