AqualogNEWS100
24
IInAQUALOGNews no.18webrought you an exclusiveon anewmarine
angelfish from the coast of Brazil. That was in July 1998. Unfortunately
nothingmore is knownabout this splendid fish to thepresent day...
TheEmperor’s new clothes
byFrankSchäfer
ngelfishesarewithoutdoubt someof
the most beautiful of marine fishes.
Six species are found on thewest coast of
the Atlantic, and the discovery there of a
new angel must rank as an absolute
sensation.
The six species are: the Pygmy Angel
Centropyge argi
, the Rock Beauty,
Holacanthus
tricolor, the Gray Angelfish,
Pomacanthus
arcuatus
,
the
French
Angelfish,
Pomacanthus paru
, the Blue
Angelfish,
Holacanthus isabelita
, and the
Queen Angel,
Holacanthus ciliaris
. It should
be noted that the last two species can be
differentiated only on the basis of their
differingcoloration.
Why is the discovery of a new angelfish
suchasensation?
Oneortwoofourreadersmaythinkthatthe
discovery of a new species is nothing
particularly out of the ordinary. But that is
only partly true. As a rule new fish species
arediscoveredwhenpreviouslyunexplored
areasarecollected,orwhen the fishare first
seenalive–numerousnewdiscoverieshave
turned out to have been preserved in
museums for decades, without it being
realized that theyweredistinct species.
The situation is, however, quite different as
regards angelfishes, which have been very
well researched.
H. ciliaris
and
H. isabelita
,
both striking and common species, were
scientificallydescribed as long ago as 1758
and1898 respectively,and the longdelay in
describing the latter species was only
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S
Retro:Seewasser
Thisportraitof ayellow-phaseGladstoneAngel
shows the unique facial mask of this species.
Photo:GladstoneAquarium
Thenewangel,
Holacanthus sp.
“Gladstone”,greenphase. Photo:GladstoneAquarium
A
