French Angelfish, Pomacanthus paru
French Angelfish, Pomacanthus paru, Juvenile. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of Yal-Ku, Quintana Roo, April 2017. Photograph courtesy of Juan Rojo, Akumal.
French Angelfish, Pomacanthus paru, Juvenile transitioning to Adult. Underwater photographs taken in coastal waters of Yal-Ku, Quintana Roo, April 2017. Photographs courtesy of Juan Rojo, Akumal.
French Angelfish, Pomacanthus paru. Fish caught from coastal waters off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, June 2013. Length: 36 cm (14 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).
French Angelfish, Pomacanthus paru. Underwater photographs taken in coastal waters of Yal-Ku, Quintana Roo, April 2016. Photographs courtesy of Juan Rojo, Akumal.
The French Angelfish, Pomacanthus paru, is a member of the Angelfish or Pomacanthidae Family, and is known in Mexico as gallineta negra. Globally, there are fouteeen species in the genus Pomacanthus, of which three are found in Mexican waters, two in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific Ocean.
The French Angelfish has a deep, compressed, and almost circular body. Adults are dark gray; their scales have yellow margins and their fins are black with the exception of the dorsal filament and the base of the pectoral fins, which are yellow. Juveniles are black with three or four yellow vertical bars on their sides, a black caudal fin with a yellow margin that extends as a full circle, anal and pelvic fins with blue tips, and a forehead with a yellow line that forms an inverted “Y” and branches down on both sides of the mouth. Their head has a projecting lower jaw with a white chin. They have a narrow blue rim under their eyes and the outer part of their irises is yellow. They have a deep head with a short snout and a small mouth equipped with comb-like teeth. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 22 to 24 rays; their dorsal fin has 10 spines and 29 to 31 soft rays with extended filaments; their caudal fin in adults is bluntly rounded; and, their pectoral fins extend past the base of their anal fin. Their body is covered with both large and small scales that are irregular and rough. Their lateral line is complete.
The French Angelfish is found in shallow waters in reef-associated environments at depths up to 101 m (330 feet). Juveniles inhabit seagrass beds. They are normally found in pairs near sea fans and take shelter at night within the coral reefs to avoid predation. They reach a maximum of 40 cm (16 inches) in length. Adults are omnivores and feed on a wide range of algae and invertebrates including sponges as well as corals, gorgonians, tunicates, and zoanthids. Juveniles feed on algae and detritus along with ectoparasites they clean from other fish; they tend “cleaning stations” where they remove these ectoparasites from a wide range of fish including jacks, snappers, morays, grunts, surgeonfish, and wrasses. Reproduction is monogamous and oviparous with external fertilization. Each female releases between 25,000 and 75,000 eggs per day; they become highly territorial during this period. Eggs are pelagic and hatch fifteen to twenty hours post-fertilization. They have lifespans of ten years. The French Angelfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The French Angelfish has a wide range in the tropical waters of the Western Atlantic that include the southeast coast of the United States to southern Brazil including the West Indies. In Mexico they are found around the Yucatán Peninsula both in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Caribbean.
The French Angelfish is most likely confused with the Gray Angelfish, Pomacanthus arcuatus (adults lack yellow band extending down the forehead; juveniles have a simple band at the tail base).
From a conservation perspective, the French Angelfish are currently listed as of Least Concern, being common throughout their range with stable populations. They are considered an excellent food fish and are marketed fresh, however, they are also known to contain ciguatoxin. Juveniles are also highly prized by the aquarium trade, with the majority of fish originating from Brazil, as they are very colorful, hardy, long-lived, and disease-resistant. Efforts to raise them in captivity are commencing. They are popular with underwater divers and snorkelers as they are very curious and will approach.