A small pale angelfish hovering in open water off a drop-off, which is already unusual for the family - most angelfish work the reef surface, and this genus feeds on plankton in midwater instead.
The sexes look like different species. Males carry bold dark bars along the flank; females have none at all, just a plain pale body with dark tail margins. That is rare in angelfish, and it goes with the social arrangement: one male holds a group of several females, and if he goes, the dominant female changes sex and grows the bars within weeks.
It lives deeper than most of its relatives, usually below fifteen meters and down to seventy, which is why divers see it less often than its abundance would suggest.
Twenty centimeters (8 in), fast, and hard to photograph for the same reason as any midwater fish: it never stops moving, and it keeps a consistent distance from anything with a lens.
The genus. Genicanthus Swainson 1839 - genys (cheek) + acanthus (thorn or spine). ETYFish
The species. Genicanthus caudovittatus (Günther 1860) - caudo- (tail) + vittatus (banded). ETYFish
- pale body; males with bold dark bars along the flank, females with none
- both sexes with dark-edged tail lobes
- hovers in midwater rather than working the reef surface
- length up to 20 cm
Why it's threatened
There appear to be no major threats to this species. Collection is limited and is not considered to be impacting the global population.
Threat classification from the IUCN Red List.
