queen angelfish
Holacanthus ciliaris (Linnaeus, 1758)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Queen Angelfish, Holacanthus ciliaris.
Pedro Lastra · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris), also known as the blue angelfish, golden angelfish, or yellow angelfish, is a species of marine angelfish found in the western Atlantic Ocean. It is a benthic (ocean floor) warm-water species that lives in coral reefs. It is recognized by its blue and yellow coloration and a distinctive spot or "crown" on its forehead. This crown distinguishes it from the closely related and similar-looking Bermuda blue angelfish (Holacanthus bermudensis), with which it overlaps in range and can interbreed. Adult queen angelfish are selective feeders and primarily eat sponges. Their social structure consists of harems which include one male and up to four females. They live within a territory where the females forage separately and are tended to by the male. Breeding in the species occurs near a full moon. The transparent eggs float in the water until they hatch. Juveniles of the species have different coloration than adults and act as cleaner fish. The queen angelfish is popular in the aquarium trade and has been a particularly common exported species from Brazil.
Wikipedia contributors, Queen angelfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:07:49.051094+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Holacanthus ciliaris (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- queen angelfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Acanthuriformes
- Family
- Pomacanthidae
- Genus
- Holacanthus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderAcanthuriformes
- familyPomacanthidae Jordan & Evermann, 1898
- genusHolacanthus Lacepède, 1802
- speciesHolacanthus ciliaris (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Holacanthus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Holacanthus africanus Cadenat, 1951 | PomacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| king angelfishHolacanthus passer Valenciennes, 1846 | PomacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| rock beautyHolacanthus tricolor (Bloch, 1795) | PomacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bermuda angelfishHolacanthus bermudensis Goode, 1876 | PomacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarion angelfishHolacanthus clarionensis Gilbert, 1890 | PomacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Holacanthus limbaughi Baldwin, 1963 | PomacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Holocanthus ciliaris (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Holocanthus lunatus Blosser, 1909 Blosser, 1909 | synonym |
| Holacanthus cornutus Desmarest, 1823 Desmarest, 1823 | synonym |
| Holacanthus lunatus Blosser, 1909 Blosser, 1909 | synonym |
| Angelichthys ciliaris (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Angelichthys iodocus (Jordan & Rutter, 1897) (Jordan & Rutter, 1897) | synonym |
| Chaetodon ciliaris Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
| Holacanthus coronatus Desmarest, 1823 Desmarest, 1823 | synonym |
| Holacanthus formosus Castelnau, 1855 Castelnau, 1855 | synonym |
| Holacanthus iodocus Jordan & Rutter, 1897 Jordan & Rutter, 1897 | synonym |
| Chaetodon parrae Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | synonym |
| Chaetodon squamulosus Shaw, 1796 Shaw, 1796 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=276012 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3M72R. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.