Pomacanthus paru
French angelfish | French Angel
Similar Species
Distribution
Tropical Atlantic/Caribbean
Description
High dark grey body, with yellow rear margins of scales, head smooth and lighter grey, mouth and chin almost white, outer eye yellow and narrowly rimmed in blue on lower side, cheek spine yellow and a yellow blotch at base of pectoral fin. In large individuals the dorsal fin has a trailing yellow filament and the anal fin has a shorter grey one. Juveniles black with light yellow bands on head, body and tail, and blue tips on pelvic and anal fins, very difficult to distinguish from P. arcuatus (Grey Angelfish), adults also similar.
Information
Max Size: 42 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 22-30.8°C
Depth: 3-100m
Habitat Generalization Index: 3.72
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Least Concern
Occurrence: Frequent (13.8% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Joe Shields