Keyhole Angelfish, Centropyge tibicen (Cuvier 1831)


Other Names: Key-hole Angelfish, White Spot Angel

A Keyhole Angelfish, Centropyge tibicen, at North Solitary Island, New South Wales, January 2014. Source: Ian Shaw / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:
A dark blue to almost blackish pygmy angelfish with a large white oval-shaped spot on the side, a narrow submarginal blue line on the dorsal, caudal and anal fins, a broad yellow margin on the anal fin, and yellow on the pelvic fins.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2024, Centropyge tibicen in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/643

Keyhole Angelfish, Centropyge tibicen (Cuvier 1831)

More Info


Distribution

Known in the Australian EEZ from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands to the Murion Islands, and Scott Reef, Western Australia, and Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, and the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, with juveniles south to Merimbula, New South Wales; also Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe Province and Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere, the species occurs in the East-Indo-West Pacific.
Inhabits coral and rubble areas in reef lagoons and on seaward reefs at depths to 35 m.

Feeding

Feeds on algae.

Biology

A protogynous hermaphrodite that forms small harems comprising a male and 2-6 females.

Etymology

The specific name is from the Latin tibicen (= flautist, piper, trumpeter). Cuvier's vernacular name for this species was Holocanthe Tropette = Trumpet Holocanth, although the significance of this name is unknown.

Species Citation

Holacanthus tibicen Cuvier, 1831, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 7: 173. Type locality: unknown.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2024

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Keyhole Angelfish, Centropyge tibicen (Cuvier 1831)

References


Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Allen, G.R., Hoese, D.F., Paxton, J.R., Randall, J.E., Russell, B.C., Starck, W.A., Talbot, F.H. & Whitley, G.P. 1976. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum 30(15): 365-454 figs 1-2

Allen, G.R., Steene, R. & Allen, M. 1998. A Guide to Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes. Cairns : Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research 250 pp. figs.

Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.

Cuvier, G.L. in Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1831. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 7 531 pp. pls 170-208. See ref at BHL

Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2

Gill, A.C. & Reader, S.E. 1992. Fishes. pp. 90-93 in Hutchings, P. (ed.). Reef Biology. A Survey of Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs, South Pacific. Canberra : Australian National Parks Vol. 3, Kowari 230 pp.

Hutchins, J.B. 2001. Biodiversity of shallow reef fish assemblages in Western Australia using a rapid censusing technique. Records of the Western Australian Museum 20: 247-270.

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. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls.

Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.

Kuiter, R.H., Debelius, H. & Tanaka, H. 2003. Pomacanthidae, a Comprehensive Guide to Angelfishes. Melbourne : Zoonetics 206 pp.

Pyle, R. 2001. Chaetodontidae, Pomacanthidae. pp. 3224-3286 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 5 2791-3379 pp.

Pyle, R. & Myers, R. 2010. Centropyge tibicen. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T165901A6161055. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165901A6161055.en. Downloaded on 11 June 2019.

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.

Russell, B.C. 1983. Annotated checklist of the coral reef fishes in the Capricorn-Bunker group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Special Publication Series 1: 1-184 figs 1-2

Steene, R.C. 1978. Butterfly and Angelfishes of the World. Australia. Sydney : A.H. & A.W. Reed Vol. 1 144 pp. 216 figs.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37365031

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:4-35 m

Fishing:Aquarium fish

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:18 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map