Coral Beauty

Centropyge bispinosa

Coral Beauty

Centropyge bispinosa

Other Common Names
Twospined Angelfish, Dusky Angelfish

Connected Coasts

Other Common Names

Twospined Angelfish, Dusky Angelfish

At the Aquarium

Connected Coasts

Appearance

The coral beauty varies in color with some individuals appearing mostly light orange with vertical stripes broken up into spots, while others appear almost entirely purple with distinct vertical stripes and little orange on their bodies. A coral beauty grows to a length of about 3.8 inches.

Habitat

Coral reefs of lagoons, rubble areas and exposed outer slopes. Found at depths of 5-50 m.

Diet

Algae

Life History

A coral beauty begins its life as a transparent egg, floating in the open water. Spawning typically occurs around sunset with a courtship ritual. Hatching occurs within 24 hours and once hatched the coral beauty begins its pelagic larval stage. For 3-4 weeks, the young coral beauty floats in the open water.

This species can be found by itself or in social groups called harems of 3-7 individuals. They are known to be highly attached to their complex reef habitats. Each male coral beauty defends a territory consisting of two to five females.

The coral beauty has been recorded to live up to 23 years, however it has been found that there are differences in lifespan depending on where an individual coral beauty lives.

IUCN Status

Least Concern

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

As one of the most widely distributed angelfish species, the coral beauty is an important food source for a variety of predators in coral reef ecosystems. They are an important component of maintaining ecosystem balance and health.

Widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific from East Africa to the Tuamotu Islands in the South Pacific, extending northwards to the Izu Islands, and as far south as Lord Howe Island.

This animal is not native to the Oregon Coast, however is found in the larger Pacific Ocean. It lives in the Aquarium as part of our Connected Coasts gallery.

The coral beauty is one of the most widely distributed angelfish species. Angelfish species closely resemble butterflyfishes, however unlike butterflyfish, they have a prominent spine near the corner of their preopercle (a boomerang-shaped bone in their cheek area).

Citations & Other Resources

Pyle, R. and R. Myers. 2010. Centropyge bispinosa. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010.

Lowe, J. R., S.D. Payet, H.B. Harrison, J.A. Hobbs, A.S. Hoey, B.M. Taylor, T.H. Sinclair‐Taylor, and M.S. Pratchett. 2021. Regional versus latitudinal variation in the life‐history traits and demographic rates of a reef fish, Centropyge bispinosa, in the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef Marine Parks, Australia. Journal of Fish Biology, 99(5), 1602–1612. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14865

Myers, R. F. 1991. Micronesian reef fishes : a practical guide to the identification of the coral reef fishes of the tropical central and western Pacific (2nd ed.). Coral Graphics.

Mendonça, R. C., J.Y. Chen, C. Zeng, and M.Y. Tsuzuki. 2020. Embryonic and early larval development of two marine angelfish, Centropyge bicolor and Centropyge bispinosa. Zygote (Cambridge), 28(3), 196–202. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0967199419000789

Coral Beauty

Coral Beauty

Other Common Names

At the Aquarium

Appearance

Habitat

Diet

Life History

IUCN Status

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Citations & Other Resources

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