{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = Pomacanthus xanthometopon 2.jpg | image_caption = At Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, Australia | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Pyle, R. |author2=Myers, R.F. |author3=Rocha, L.A. |author4=Craig, M.T. |date=2010 |title=''Pomacanthus xanthometopon'' |volume=2010 |article-number=e.T165829A6143143 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165829A6143143.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Pomacanthus xanthometopon | authority = (Bleeker, 1853) <ref name=WoRMS>{{cite WoRMS |author=Bailly, Nicolas |year=2010 |title=''Pomacanthus xanthometopon'' (Bleeker, 1853) |id=276027 |accessdate=2012-02-01 |db=}}</ref> | synonyms = *''Euxiphipops xanthometopon''<small> (Bleeker, 1853)</small> *''Holacanthus xanthometopon''<small> Bleeker, 1853</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref name = fishbase/> }}
'''''Pomacanthus xanthometopon''''' is a marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae found in shallow parts of the Indo-Pacific. It is commonly known as the '''blueface angelfish''' or the '''yellowface angelfish''' because of its striking facial colouration.
==Taxonomy== ''Pomacanthus xanthometopon'' was first formally described in 1853 as ''Holocanthus xanthometopon'' by the Dutch ichthyologist and herpetologist Pieter Bleeker (1819–1878) with the type locality given as Telok betong, Sumatra in Indonesia.<ref name = CofF>{{Cof genus| genus = Pomacanthus | access-date = 6 March 2021}}</ref> The species is placed by some authorities in the subgenus ''Euxiphipops'',. The specific name of this species, ''xantometopon'' means "yellow forehead", a reference to the yellow "mask" across its eyes.<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 = 6 March 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 and habitat== ''Pomacanthus xanthometopon'' is found on coral reefs in the eastern part of the tropical Indo-Pacific. Its range includes the Maldive Islands, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, northern Australia and Micronesia. It has occasionally been observed off the coast of Florida.<ref name="Florida" /> It favours lagoons, outer reef slopes and channels at depths down to about {{convert|25|m}} and is often found among rocks and near caves. The juveniles frequently live inside caves.<ref name="fishbase" /> ==Description== {{Multiple image | image1 = Yellow-mask angelfish (Pomacanthus xanthometopon) (46982094274) (cropped).jpg | image2 = Pomacanthus xanthometopon juvenil.jpg | caption2 = Juvenile | caption1 = Adult | total_width = 500 | align = center }} thumb|Young adult without eyespot ''Pomacanthus xanthometopon'' grows to a maximum length of {{convert|38|cm}} and is laterally compressed. The mouth is just above the tip of the snout. The fins are large and rounded and are yellow, some edged with blue round the margins. The dorsal fin is set just in front of the caudal region, has a distinctive black eyespot at the base and has 13–14 spines and 16–18 soft rays. The anal fin has 3 spines and 16–18 soft rays. The scales are pale blue edged with yellow giving a reticulated pattern. The face is yellow with a dense network of brilliant blue lines on the bottom half and a plain yellow mask around the eyes. Juveniles are quite differently coloured with 6 vertical white bars separated by pale blue lines and a caudal fin barred in 2 shades of blue. The juveniles change colour gradually after reaching a length of {{convert|7|to|12|cm}}.<ref name="fishbase">{{FishBase species | genus = Pomacanthus | species = xanthometopon| month = February| year = 2012}}</ref><ref name="Florida">[https://fl.biology.usgs.gov/documents/Pomacanthus_xanthometopon.pdf ''Pomacanthus xanthometopon'' Bleeker 1853: Yellowface Angelfish] Retrieved 2012.02.26.</ref> This species can be confused with the queen angelfish (''Holacanthus ciliaris'') or the blue angelfish (''Holacanthus bermudensis''), but both these have a completely blue face and lack the caudal eyespot.<ref name="Florida" />
==Biology== ''Pomacanthus xanthometopon'' usually lives singly or in pairs and feeds on tunicates, sponges, other encrusting organisms and algae.<ref name="Florida" /> It is an egg-laying species and scatters its eggs on the seabed.<ref>[http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/Marine-angelfish/Blueface.php Blueface Angelfish: ''Pomacanthus xanthometopon''] Aquatic Community. Retrieved 2012-02-26.</ref>
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species considers the yellowface angelfish of least concern because it is common over most of its wide range and has no major threats.<ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021" />
==Utilisation== ''Pomacanthus xanthometopon'' is uncommon in the aquarium trade, those specimens which make their way into that trade are usually traded through dealers in the Philippines and Singapore.<ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{sealifephotos|276027}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Pomacanthus xanthometopon}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q882944}}
xanthometopon Category:Fish of Palau Category:Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker Category:Fish described in 1853