Saddleback Anemonefish, Amphiprion polymnus (Linnaeus 1758)


Other Names: Brownsaddle Clownfish, Panda Anemonefish, Panda Clownfish, Saddle Back Clown, Saddleback Clownfish, White-tipped Anemonefish, Yellow-finned Anemone-fish

A male Saddleback Anemonefish, Amphiprion polymnus, tending eggs at Onna-son, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Source: Klaus Stiefel / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:
Found in silty areas, the Saddleback Clownfish has two colour morphs: the most common is usually rusty orange with a broad white band on the head, a broad saddle-like marking or band on the back and soft dorsal fin, and a broad white margin on the caudal fin. The other morph is dark-bodied with white banding, often with yellow to orange on the snout, pectoral fins and sometimes on the caudal fin.

Video of Saddleback Anemonefish in Truk Lagoon.

Video of a pair of Saddleback Anemonefish with their eggs at Basilan in the Sulu Archipelago, Philippines.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2018, Amphiprion polymnus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/318

Saddleback Anemonefish, Amphiprion polymnus (Linnaeus 1758)

More Info


Distribution

Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory, to inshore waters inside the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Elsewhere, the species occurs in the tropical Western Pacific east to the Solomon Islands, and north to the Ryukyu Islands, southern Japan.

Inhabits silty lagoons and harbours, living in a commensal association with the sea anemones Heteractis crispa, Macrodactyla doreensis and Stichodactyla haddoni, in depths between 2-30 m.

Biology

Saddleback Anemonefish are protandrous hermaphrodites, changing sex from male to female during their life cycle. They form monogamous pairs, and after spawning, the males guard and aerate the developing eggs. 

Species Citation

Perca polymna Linnaeus, 1758, Systema Naturae 1: 291.  Type locality: Indies.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2018

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Saddleback Anemonefish, Amphiprion polymnus (Linnaeus 1758)

References


Allen, G.R., 1975. Damselfishes of the South Seas. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey. 240 p.

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. 

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

Allsop, D.J. & West, S.A. 2003. Constant relative age and size at sex change for sequentially hermaphroditic fish. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 16(2003): 921-929.

Fautin, D.G. & Allen, G.R. 1992. Field guide to anemonefishes and their host sea anemones. Western Australian Museum, Francis Street, Perth.

Jenkins, A., Allen, G., Myers, R., Yeeting, B. & Carpenter, K.E. 2017. Amphiprion polymnus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T188579A1896440. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T188579A1896440.en. Downloaded on 27 May 2018.

Kuiter, R.H. & T. Tonozuka. 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 2. Fusiliers - Dragonets, Caesionidae - Callionymidae. Zoonetics, Australia, pp. 304-622.

Bloch, M.E. & Schneider, J.G. 1801. Systema Ichthyologiae Iconibus ex Illustratum. Berlin 584 pp. 110 pls. 

Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293

Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna tria Naturae, secundem Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentis, Synonymis, Locis. Tom.1 Editio decima, reformata. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii 824 pp.

Marshall, T.C. 1964. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coastal Waters of Queensland. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 566 pp. 136 pls.

Moyer, J.T. & Nakazono, A. 1978. Protandrous hermaphroditism in six species of the anemonefish genus Amphiprion in Japan. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 25(2): 101-106.

Moyer, J.T. & Steene, R.C. (1979) Nesting behavior of the anemonefish Amphiprion polymnus. Jap J Ichthyol 26(2): 209–214.

Rattanayuvakorn, S., Mungkornkarn, P., Thongpan, A. & Chatchavalvanich, K. 2005. Embryonic development of Saddleback anemonefish, Amphiprion polymnus, Linnaeus (1758). Kasetsart J (Nat Sci) 39: 455–463.

Saenz-Agudelo, P., Jones, G.P., Thorrold, S.R., & Planes, S. 2015. Mothers matter : contribution to local replenishment is linked to female size , mate replacement and fecundity in a fish metapopulation. Marine Biology 162: 3–14. doi:10.1007/s00227-014-2556-x

Taylor, W.R. 1964. Fishes of Arnhem Land. Records of the American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land 4: 44-307 figs 1-68

Terver, D. 1971. Comportement de ponte, reproduction et developpement embryonnaire d'un poisson-clown (Amphiprion polymnus). Piscic. Fr. 26: 9-23.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37372138

Behaviour:Lives with anemones

Biology:Hermaphrodite

Depth:2-30 m

Fishing:Aquarium fish

Habitat:Reef associated - silty lagoons & harbours

Max Size:13 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map