''Chaetodontoplus duboulayi'', the scribbled angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. This species is from the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

Description

''Chaetodontoplus duboulayi'' has an largely blue body marked with darker wavy lines. The snout is yellow as are the

pectoral Pectoral may refer to: * The chest region and anything relating to it. * Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest * a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget * Pectoral (Ancient Egypt), a type of jewelry worn in ancient Egypt * Pectora ...

pelvic The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an anatomical trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis or pelvic skeleton). ...

and

caudal fin 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 ...

s. There is a yellow stripe which extends along the base of the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

and a wide vertical, yellow bar to the rear of the eye and the operculum is white. They are

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

with the males being marked with sinuous blue lines along their flanks while the females have yellow or blue spots. The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 22 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 21 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of .

Distribution

''Chaetodontoplus duboulayi'' Is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean where it occurs along the northern Australian coast from

Shark Bay Shark Bay () is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The area is located approximately north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent. UNESCO's listing of Shark Bay as a World Heritage S ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and as far south as

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...

in the Tasman Sea. It can also be found in the

Aru Islands Aru or ARU may refer to: Education * Alpha Rho Upsilon, a defunct fraternity in the United States * Anglia Ruskin University, a university in England * Ardhi University, a Tanzanian public university Places * Aru Islands Regency, a group of i ...

of Indonesia and along the southern coast of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. There have also been reports from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Habitat and biology

''Chaetodontoplus duboulayi'' at depths between and is found on coastal and inshore reefs where there are areas of rubble, soft bottoms or open rocky areas which have a substrate made up of outcropping of rock, coral, sponge, and seawhips. They are normally encountered in small groups. They feed on benthic invertebrates especially sponges and tunicates. Like all other angelfish it is a

protogynous hermaphrodite Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is one of the two types of hermaphroditism, the other type being simultaneous hermaphroditism. It occurs when the organism's sex changes at some point in its life. A sequential hermaphrodite ...

, with all individuals being female initially and the dominant ones changing to males.

Reproduction

In 1993, researchers at the Japanese Journal of Ichthyology began a study regarding the

spawning Spawn is the Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...

behavior of Scribbled angelfish. It was found that once laid, the eggs of Scribbled angelfish range from 0.92 millimeters to 0.9 millimeters. Additionally, it was found that after spawning the number of eggs created can vary from 5,000 to 33,000.

Systematics

''Chaetodontoplus duboulayi'' was first formally described in 1867 as ''Holocanthus duboulayi'' by the German-born British

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

and

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

Albert Günther (1830–1914) with the type locality given as the northwestern coast of Australia. The specific name honours the collector of the type, M. Duboulay, this is likely to be the collector,

natural historian Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

Francis Houssemayne du Boulay Francis Houssemayne "Frank" du Boulay (24 January 1837 – 12 January 1914) was an Australian musician and naturalist. History Du Boulay was born in Sandgate, Kent, England, the third son of Rev Thomas Houssemayne du Boulay. (14 February 1804 – ...

(1837–1914). anthough he specialised in Australian insects and beetles.

Utilisation

''Chaetodontoplus duboulayi'' is a highly prized species in the aquarium trade and formerly was only occasionally exported through that trade. More recently its availability has improved, although specimens still command high prices. They have now been successfully bred in captivity.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1042503 duboulayi Fish described in 1867 Taxa named by Albert Günther