{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = Pomacanthus zonipectus 240870066 (cropped).jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Pyle, R. |author2=Allen, G.R. |author3=Myers, R.F. |author4=Zapata, F. |author5=Barraza, E. |author6=Robertson, R. |author7=Rocha, L.A. |author8=Craig, M.T. |date=2010 |title=''Pomacanthus zonipectus'' |volume=2010 |article-number=e.T165889A6158436 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165889A6158436.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Pomacanthus zonipectus | authority = (T. N. Gill, 1862) | synonyms = ''Pomacanthodes zonipectus'' <small>Gill, 1862</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase|Pomacanthus|zonipectus|month=December|year=2019}}</ref> }}
'''''Pomacanthus zonipectus''''', the '''Cortez angelfish''', is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is from the Eastern Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.
==Taxonomy== ''Pomacanthus zonipectus'' was first formally described as ''Pomacanthodes zonipectus'' in 1862 by the American ichthyologist Theodore Nicholas Gill (1837–1914) with the type locality given as San Salvador in El Salvador.<ref name="CofF">{{Cof genus|genus=Pomacanthus|access-date=6 March 2021}}</ref> Some authorities place this species in the subgenus ''Pomacanthus''. The specific name ''zonipectus'' is a compound of ''zona'' meaning "belt" and ''pectus'' meaning "breast", a reference to the dark-brown girdle on the breast to the rear of the pelvic and pectoral fins.<ref name="ETYFish">{{cite web |author1=Christopher Scharpf |author2=Kenneth J. Lazara |name-list-style=amp |date=21 July 2020 |title=Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 1): Families LOBOTIDAE, POMACANTHIDAE, DREPANEIDAE and CHAETODONTIDAE |url=http://www.etyfish.org/acanthuriformes1/ |access-date=6 March 2021 |work=The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database |publisher=Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}</ref>
==Distribution== ''Pomacanthus zonipectus'' occurs in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Puerto Peñasco, in the northern Gulf of California of Mexico south to Peru. It has been recorded as a vagrant from southern California, the Galapagos Islands, Cocos Island and Malpelo Island, although it has not been reported from Clipperton Island.<ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021" />
==Description== ''Pomacanthus zonipectus'' has a deep, compressed body with a short, blunt snout with a small mouth which has numerous small bristle-like teeth. It's preoperculum has a large spine at its corner and a smooth vertical edge, while the area beneath the eye and the operculum have no spines.<ref name="STRI">{{cite web | url = https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/sftep/en/thefishes/species/1561 | title = Species: Pomacanthus zonipectus, Cortez angelfish | access-date = 6 March 2021 | work = Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system | publisher = Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute}}</ref> This species can reach a total body length of about {{cvt|46|cm}}.<ref name="Fishbase" /> [[File:Pomacanthus zonipectus juvenile.jpg|thumb|Juvenile, in Panama|left]] Like other members of the genus ''Pomacanthus'', has juveniles and adults which look quite different. The adults have the posterior half of the body covered by a matrix of crisscrossing lines, becoming yellowish-green in the tail. There is a large yellow arc to the rear of the pectoral fins and a bright yellow saddle across the nape.<ref name="Adams">{{cite web |url = https://reefbuilders.com/2016/09/30/cortez-angelfish/ | title = Who Knew that a Cortez Angelfish Could Be This Attractive | author = Jake Adams | date = 30 September 2016 | website = reef builders.com}}</ref> There is a pale grey section in the middle of the flanks. The juveniles have a brownish black background colour broken by 6 vertical vivid yellow bands that start on the face and finish at the caudal peduncle,<ref name="Saltcorner">{{cite web | url = http://www.saltcorner.com/AquariumLibrary/browsespecies.php?CritterID=115&filter=0 | title = ''Pomacanthus zonipectus'' | access-date = 6 March 2021| publisher = Bob Goemans | year = 2012 | work = Saltcorner!}}</ref> between the yellow bars there are parallel blue bars.<ref name="STRI" /> The dorsal and pelvic fins have bright blue margins.<ref name="Saltcorner" /> These angelfishes have 11 spines and 24–25 soft rays in the dorsal fin and 3 spines and 20–22 soft rays in the anal fin.<ref name="STRI" />
{{Multiple image | image1 = Pomacanthus zonipectus 249958032 (cropped).jpg | image2 = Pomacanthus zonipectus 198364162 (cropped).jpg | image3 = Pomacanthus zonipectus 272845600 (cropped).jpg | image4 = Pomacanthus zonipectus 241228417 (cropped).jpg | image5 = Cortez Angelfish (2056534167) (cropped).jpg | total_width = 900 | align = center | image6 = Pomacanthus zonipectus 314108665.jpg | footer = Growth series (from youngest to oldest) }}
==Habitat and biology== ''Pomacanthus zonipectus'' is found between depths of {{cvt|6|and|50|m}}.<ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021" /> This species is diurnal, it feeds on food items taken from the substrate, mainly sponges but including tunicates, algae, bryozoans, hydroids and the eggs of fish. The adults are found in pairs which range widely over therefore while the solitary juveniles are territorial. Spawning happens from midsummer to early autumn and the juveniles are most abundant from August up to November. They appear to be monogamous.<ref name = Fishbase/> Juveniles are also found in tidal pools.<ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021" />
==Utilisation== ''Pomacanthus zonipectus'' occasionally appears in the aquarium trade.<ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Pomacanthus zonipectus}} * {{SealifePhotos|276028}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1135596}}
zonipectus Category:Western Central American coastal fauna Category:Taxa named by Theodore Gill Category:Fish described in 1862