POMACANTHIDAE


Pomacanthus annularis
(photo by Mark Strickland)


Pomacanthus annularis
(Bloch, 1787)
Blueringed Angelfish

D XIII, 20-22; A III, 20-21; P1 19; GR 4-5 + 12.

Body oblong, very deep and compressed; a long spine at corner of preopercle. Soft portions of dorsal and anal fins round; caudal fin rounded. Color: body yellowish brown, with 5-8 diagonal brilliant blue stripes on sides; a blue ring above upper edge of gill opening, at the origin of lateral line; 2 horizontal blue stripes on head across nape before eye onto edge of opercle, the upper stripe at the level of mid eye, the lower at the level just beneath lower edge of eye; base of pectoral fins with blue band; caudal fin white. Juveniles bluish-black with a series of white and blue narrow bars on sides, anterior bars slightly curved; no white ring before caudal peduncle; no marking on caudal fin. Size: maximum length about 30 cm. Distribution: Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to New Caledonia. Remarks: inhabits lagoons and coral reefs at depths of 10-30 m. Found solitary or in pairs. Feeds on sponges and tunicates.