The nosestripe clownfish or nosestripe anemonefish, skunk clownfish, ''Amphiprion akallopisos'', is an anemonefish (also called clownfish) that lives in association with

sea anemone Sea anemones ( ) are a group of predation, predatory marine invertebrates constituting the order (biology), order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the ''Anemone'', a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemone ...

s. ''A. akallopisos'' is found in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. It resides in shallow inshore reefs as deep as 15 m with a moderate to strong current. The skunk clownfish can also be kept in captivity by aquarists.

Description

The skunk clownfish is identified by a light orange color, with a single, narrow, white stripe running from the mouth to the

caudal peduncle Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

, and can grow as large as 11 cm in lengt

Like other anemonefish, the skunk clownfish is a Hermaphrodite, protandrous hermaphrodite, and maintains a hierarchy within the host anemone that consists of a mating pair, of which the female is the largest, and non-mating males which get progressively smaller in size.

Color variations

''A. akallopisos'' does not have a

melanistic Melanism is the congenital excess of melanin in an organism resulting in dark pigment. Pseudomelanism, also called abundism, is another variant of pigmentation, identifiable by dark spots or enlarged stripes, which cover a large part of the bod ...

variation when associated with ''Stichodactyla mertensii'' unlike some other species of anemonefish, including ''A. chrysogaster'', ''A. chrysopterus'', ''A. clarkii'' and ''A. tricinctus''.

Territorial behaviors

The skunk clownfish, and other clownfish, use sound production to defend their territory. This behavior is most common with

damselfish Damselfish are those fish within the subfamilies Abudefdufinae, Chrominae, Lepidozyginae, Pomacentrinae, and Stegastinae within the family Pomacentridae. Most species within this group are relatively small, although the four largest speci ...

es that produce a wide variety of sounds, a behavior shared with at least 10 species of anemonefish. Sounds resembling pops and chirps are most commonly heard when interacting with invading fish of the same species or different species. Studies have shown that it is the female that defends the anemone using sound production, as well as a physical charge when other fishes attempt to enter. ''A. akallopisos'' exhibit three different types of sounds, pops, short chirps, and long chirps, used depending on the type and duration of the encounter, which can also vary by locality.Parmentier, E.; Lagardère, J. P.; Vandewalle, P.; Fine, M. L. 2005. "Geographical variation in sound production in the anemonefish Amphiprion akallopisos." Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biology. Vol. 272:1697-1703.

Similar species

The mid-dorsal stripe and absence of head and body bars distinguishes ''A. akallopisos'' from most anemonefish except the orange anemonefish '' A. sandaracinos'' and they have an overlapping distribution around

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

. The skunk anemonefish has a narrower stripe that does not reach the upper lip. ''A. sandaracinos'', as its common name suggests, is a bright orange, while ''A. akallopisos'' is paler, tending to be more pink than orange. Image:Amphiprion akallopisos 2010.JPG, ''A. akallopisos'' (Skunk anemonefish) Image:Amphiprion sandaracinos.jpg, ''A. sandaracinos'' (Orange anemonefish) showing the broader white stripe extending to the upper lip.

Distribution and habitat

''A. akallopisos'' is found in the

from

and the

Java Sea The Java Sea (, ) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its northwest links it to the South Ch ...

, western and southern coasts of

, the west coast of

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and north to the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...

west to

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Comoro Islands The Comoro Islands are a group of volcanic islands in the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean lying between Madagascar and the African mainland. Three of the islands form the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign nation, while Mayotte bel ...

and

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

Host anemones

Usually commensal with the sea anemones: *''

Heteractis magnifica ''Radianthus magnifica'', also known by as magnificent sea anemone or Ritteri anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Stichodactylidae that is native to the Hawaii, USA, Indo-Pacific. Description The magnificent sea anemone is chara ...

'' magnificent sea anemone *''

Stichodactyla mertensii ''Stichodactyla mertensii'', commonly known as Mertens' carpet sea anemone, is a species of sea anemones in the family Stichodactylidae. It is regarded as the largest sea anemone with a diameter of over , the next largest being '' Heteractis mag ...

'' Mertens' carpet sea anemone Image:Sea anemone mad 1.JPG, ''A. akallopisos'' with other unidentified fish in ''

''. Image:Skunk Anemonefish - Amphiprion akallopisos.jpg, ''A. akallopisos'' in the magnificent sea anemone ''

''.

References

External links

* * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q949111 Amphiprion Fish described in 1853