Barrier Reef Anemonefish, Amphiprion akindynos Allen 1972
A Barrier Reef Anemonefish, Amphiprion akindynos, at East Diamond Islet in the Coral Sea, November 2016. Source: Ian Shaw / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial
An orange to orange-brown anemonefish with two black-edged white bars of similar width on the body, a white tail and tail base, and a pale snout. Juveniles have a large dark patch on the caudal fin, a yellow snout, and yellow pectoral, pelvic and anal fins.
Barrier Reef Anemonefish, Amphiprion akindynos Allen 1972
More Info
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Distribution |
Far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, and reefs in the Coral Sea, to at least Broughton Island, New South Wales. Elsewhere the species occurs in the Western Pacific, including New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands. Inhabits lagoons and outer reefs, living with a number of sea anemone species (Entacmaea quadricolor, Heteractis aurora, H. crispa, H. magnifica, Stichodactyla haddoni and S. mertensii). |
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Features |
Dorsal-fin X-XI, 14-17; Anal fin II, 13-14. |
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Colour |
An orange to orange-brown anemonefish with two black-edged white bars on the body; the first bar crossing the top of the head and extending down the gill cover just behind the eye, the second running from the middle of the dorsal fin to the lower belly. Caudal peduncle and caudal fin white. |
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Biology |
Anemone fishes live in small social groups in a commensal relationship with host anemones, and are protandrous hermaphrodites, with the ability to change sex from male to female. They form monogamous pairs and The groups include a monogamous pair of sexually functional adults and from zero to several sexually non-functional subadults and juveniles. Individuals first mature as functional males with gonads comprising both ovarian tissue with immature oocytes and testicular tissue with active spermatogenesis. During the functional female phase however, only ovarian tissue is present. Sex change is socially controlled by a strict dominance hierarchy, with the single female as the largest fish in the group. During the breeding season, males select nesting sites close to the host anemone. They clear the site of any algae and debris, often aided by the female, and she lays her eggs onto this surface. |
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Fisheries |
The Barrier Reef Anemonefish has been reared in captivity and is traded in the aquarium industry. |
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Remarks |
Anemonefish and their anemone hosts live in a mutualistic partnership - the anemone protects the clownfish against predators, and the fish provides the anemone's zooxanthellae algae with excreted nutrients. |
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Etymology |
The specific name is from the Greek akindynos (= safe, without danger), in reference to the safety afforded amongst the tentacles of its host anemone. |
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Species Citation |
Amphiprion akindynos Allen, 1972, Anemonefishes, their Classification and Biology: 153, figs. 76-80.Type locality: One Tree Island, Capricorn Group, Queensland, 0-15 feet. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2025 |
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Resources |
Barrier Reef Anemonefish, Amphiprion akindynos Allen 1972
References
Allen, G.R. 1972. Anemonefishes, their Classification and Biology. Neptune CityNew Jersey : T.F.H. Publications 288 pp., 140 figs.
Allen, G.R. 1991. Damselfishes of the World. Melle, Germany : Mergus Verlag 271 pp.
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.
Allen, G. R. 2001. Family Pomacentridae. pp. in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds).The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.
Bay, L.K. 2005. The population genetic structure of coral reef fishes on the Great Barrier Reef, Ph.D. thesis, James Cook University.
Bay, L.K. & Caley, J.M. 2011. Greater genetic diversity in spatially restricted coral reef fishes suggests secondary contact among differentiated lineages. Diversity 3: 483-502.
Bay, L.K., Buechler, K., Gagliano, M. & Caley, J.M. 2006. Intraspecific variation in the pelagic larval duration of tropical reef fishes. Journal of Fish Biology 68: 1206-1214.
Buechler, K. 2005. An evaluation of geographic variation in the life history and behaviour of anemonefishes: a common-garden approach, Ph.D. thesis, James Cook University.
Coleman, N. 1974. Australian Marine Fishes in Colour. Sydney : A.H. & A.W. Reid 108 pp.
Émie, AG., François-Étienne, S., Sidki, B. et al. 2021. Microbiomes of clownfish and their symbiotic host anemone converge before their first physical contact. Microbiome 9: 109. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-021-01058-1
Fautin, D.G. 1984. Competition by anemonefishes for a preferred host actinian. American Zoologist 24(3): 543.
Fautin, D.G. 1985. Why do anemonefishes inhabit only some host actinians? Proceedings of the Fifth International Coral Reef Congress, Tahiti 5: 373-377.
Fautin, D.G. & Allen, G.R. 1992. Field Guide to Anemonefishes and their Host Sea Anemones. Perth : Western Australian Museum 160 pp.
Grant, E.M. 1975. Guide to Fishes. Brisbane : Queensland Government, Co-ordinator General’s Department 640 pp.
Grant, E.M. 1991. Fishes of Australia. Brisbane : EM Grant Pty Ltd 480 pp.
Jenkins, A., Carpenter, K.E., Allen, G., Yeeting, B. & Myers, R. 2017. Amphiprion akindynos. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T188552A1891834. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T188552A1891834.en. Downloaded on 21 May 2018.
Johnson, J.W. 1999. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43(2): 709-762.
Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3)
Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. 1997. Guide to sea fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers I-xvii, 434 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. 437 pp.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.
Thresher, R.E., P.L. Colin & L.J. Bell.1989. Planktonic duration, distribution and population structure of western and central Pacific damselfishes (Pomacentridae). Copeia 1989(2): 420-434.
van der Meer, M.H., M.G. Gardner, J.-P.A. Hobbs, G.P. Jones & L. van Herwerden. 2011. Identification of seventeen microsatellite markers for conservation genetic studies of the endemic anemonefish, Amphiprion mccullochi. Conservation Genetics Resources, doi: 10.1007/s12686-011-9517-1.
van der Meer, M.H., Jones, G.P., Hobbs, J.-P. A. & Van Herwerden, L. 2012. Historic hybridization and introgression between two iconic Australian anemonefish and contemporary patterns of population connectivity. Ecology and Evolution 2(7): 1592-1604. PDF
