Gray angelfish

{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = {{Easy CSS image crop|Image=Pomacanthus arcuatus 109580400.jpg|desired_width=250|crop_left_perc=10|crop_right_perc=10|crop_top_perc=10|crop_bottom_perc=10}} | image_caption = In Florida | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Pyle, R. |author2=Myers, R.F. |author3=Rocha, L.A. |author4=Craig, M.T. |date=2010 |title=''Pomacanthus arcuatus'' |volume=2010 |article-number=e.T165887A6157789 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165887A6157789.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Pomacanthus arcuatus | authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonyms = {{Collapsible list| *''Chaetodon arcuatus'' Linnaeus, 1758 *''Chaetodon lutescens'' Bonnaterre, 1788 *''Chaetodon quinquecinctus'' Cuvier, 1829 *''Pomacanthus balteatus'' Cuvier, 1831 *''Pomacanthus cingulatus'' Cuvier, 1831 *''Chaetodon littoricola'' Poey, 1868 }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase|Pomacanthus|arcuatus|month=December|year=2019}}</ref> }} The '''gray angelfish''' ('''''Pomacanthus arcuatus'''''), also written as '''grey angelfish''' and known in Jamaica as the '''pot cover''', is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the marine angelfish family, Pomacanthidae. It is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.

==Taxonomy== The gray angelfish was first formally described in 1758 as ''Chaetodon arcuatus'' by Carolus Linnaeus in the 10th Edition of his Systema Naturae with the type locality given as "Indiis".<ref name = CofF>{{Cof genus| genus = Pomacanthus | access-date = 28 February 2021}}</ref> When Lacépède created the genus ''Pomacanthus,'' he used Linnaeus's ''Chaetodon arcuatus'' as its type species.<ref name = CofF2>{{Cof family| family = Pomacanthidae | access-date = 28 February 2021}}</ref> When ''Pomacanthus'' is subdivided into subgenera, this species is placed in the subgenus ''Pomacanthus''. The specific name ''arcuatus'' means "bowed", referring to the curved lines on the body.<ref name = ETYFish>{{cite web | url = http://www.etyfish.org/acanthuriformes1/ | title =Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 1): Families LOBOTIDAE, POMACANTHIDAE, DREPANEIDAE and CHAETODONTIDAE | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | access-date = 28 February 2021 | date = 21 July 2020 | author1 = Christopher Scharpf | author2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}</ref> ==Distribution== The gray angelfish is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean from New York to Rio de Janeiro, though it is typically not found north of Florida during the winter. Its range extends to all of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> It has been introduced to Bermuda from the Bahamas.<ref name="fao">{{cite web | url = http://www.fao.org/fishery/introsp/2190/en | title = Pomacanthus arcuatus introduced to Bermuda from Bahamas Date of introduction: 1920s | access-date = 28 February 2021| publisher = Food and Agriculture Organization}}</ref> ==Description== The gray angelfish has a disk-shaped, compressed body with a large head and small snout. The snout has a mouth at its tip, which is filled with small, bristle-like teeth. The preoperculum has a sizable spine at its corner and a smooth vertical edge.<ref name="STRI">{{cite web | url = https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/3856 | title = Species: Pomacanthus arcuatus, Grey angelfish | access-date = 28 February 2021 | work = Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information | publisher = Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute}}</ref>

{{Multiple image | image1 = Grey Angelfish, Cayman Islands imported from iNaturalist photo 254671024.jpg | image2 = Grey Angelfish, Blue Heron Bridge, Riviera Beach, FL, USA imported from iNaturalist photo 137465943.jpg | total_width = 550 | image3 = Pomacanthus arcuatus.jpg | footer = From youngest juvenile (left) to adult (right) | align = center }}

The juveniles have a black body marked with five vertical yellow stripes, three on the head and two on the body. The caudal fin has a black blotch which can be elongated or rectangular. Adults are pale grayish in color and covered in black spots. The head is plain pale gray with a white mouth. The dorsal and anal fins frequently show elongated streamers.<ref name="Saltcorner">{{cite web | url = http://www.saltcorner.com/AquariumLibrary/browsespecies.php?CritterID=104&filter=0 | title = ''Pomacanthus arcuatus'' | access-date = 28 February 2021| publisher = Bob Goemans | year = 2012 | work = Saltcorner!}}</ref> The dorsal fin contains 9 spines and 31–33 soft rays, while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 23–25 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of {{convert|60|cm|in}}.<ref name="Fishbase" />

==Habitat== [[File:Grey Angelfish, Nassau, The Bahamas imported from iNaturalist photo 331400555.jpg|thumb|In the Bahamas]] The gray angelfish is found at depths between {{convert|3|and|30|m|ft}} over coral and rocky reefs.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> Juveniles occur at shallow depths on patch reefs and in seagrass beds.<ref name="DF">{{cite web | url = https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/pomacanthus-arcuatus/ | title = Pomacanthus arcuatus | access-date = 28 February 2021 | work = Discover Fish | publisher = Florida Museum | author = Cathleen Bester}}</ref>

== Biology ==

=== Diet === The gray angelfish is a diurnal species hiding in the reef during the night. They mainly feed on sponges but have also been recorded feeding on algae, as well as tunicates, zoantharians, gorgonians, hydroids, and bryozoans. The juveniles act as cleaner fish, establishing a cleaning station which is visited by a variety of larger fishes for the juvenile gray angelfish to remove and consume their ectoparasites.<ref name="DF" />

=== Reproduction === In the northern parts of its range, the spawning season occurs in the summer, from April to September. They have been recorded spawning above deep reefs during the early morning. The fish swim a meter or two above the reef and indulge in brief chases. The pair will chase off intruders. When they are ready, the pair swims upwards, bringing their bellies together to release eggs and milt. Females can release between 25,000 and 75,000 eggs. The fish may repeat this process multiple times. The eggs are pelagic and hatch into larvae after 15–20 hours. The larvae live among the plankton until they attain a length of around {{cvt|15|mm}}, after which they descend onto the reef where they settle.<ref name="DF" />

===Parasites=== The gray angelfish has been recorded as a host for the following endoprasitic trematodes ''Antorchis urna'', ''Cleptodiscus reticulatus'', ''Hamacreadium mutabile'', ''Hapladena megatyphlon'', ''Hexangitrema pomacanthi'', ''Hexangitrema pricei'', ''Phyllodistomum pomacanthi'', ''Pleurogonius candidulus'', ''Pleurogonius mcintoshi'', ''Pyelosomum erubescens'' and ''Theletrum fustiforme''. Known ectoparasites include the copepods ''Caligus atromaculatus'', ''Caligus longipedis'', ''Caligus xystercus'', ''Pseudanuretes parvulus'' and ''Thysanote pomacanthi''.<ref name="WoRMS">{{cite WoRMS |author= Bailly, Nicolas |year= 2008 |title= ''Pomacanthus arcuatus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) |id= 159287|access-date=28 February 2021}}</ref>

==Utilisation== thumb|Line caught, in Florida The gray angelfish is a popular fish in the aquarium trade. Specimens enter the trade from Florida throughout the year. Between 1995 and 2000 over 12,000 fish of this species entered the trade, which originated in Brazil. The species has been bred in captivity. It is also caught in some areas for food.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />

=== Toxicity === The consumption of gray angelfish is known to occasionally cause ciguatera poisoning. However, the risk of ciguatera poisoning from consuming this species is nonetheless considered low.<ref name="Fishbase" />

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Pomacanthus arcuatus}} {{Wikispecies|Pomacanthus arcuatus}} * {{SealifePhotos|159287}}

gray angelfish Category:Fish of the Western Atlantic Category:Fauna of the Southeastern United States gray angelfish gray angelfish