Ocellaris clownfish
| Ocellaris clownfish | |
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| Specimen from the Mystic Aquarium | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Pomacentridae |
| Subfamily: | Amphiprioninae |
| Genus: | Amphiprion |
| Species: | A. ocellaris |
| Binomial name | |
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Amphiprion ocellaris Cuvier, 1830 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Amphiprion bicolor Castelnau, 1873 |
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Amphiprion bicolor Castelnau, 1873
Amphiprion melanurus Cuvier, 1830
The ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris), also known as the false percula clownfish or common clownfish, is a marine fish belonging to the family Pomacentridae which includes clownfishes and damselfishes. Amphiprion ocellaris are found in different colors, depending on where they are located. For example, black Amphiprion ocellaris with white bands can be found near northern Australia, Southeast Asia, and Japan. Orange or red-brown Amphiprion ocellaris also exist with three white bands (like mentioned above) spanning from its body and head. Amphiprion ocellaris can be distinguished from other Amphriphon fish based on the number of pectoral rays and dorsal spines. Amphiprion ocellaris are known to grow about 110 mm long. Like many other fish species, females are, however, larger than males. The life cycle of Amphiprion ocellaris varies in whether they reside at the surface or bottom of the ocean. When they initially hatch, they reside near the surface. However, when Amphiprion ocellaris enters into the juvenile stage of life, they travel down to the bottom to find shelter from a host anemone. Once they find their anemone, they form a symbiotic relationship with them.
The species Amphiprion ocellaris belongs to the class Actinopterygii which contains bony fish and ray-finned fish. A. ocellaris is the most basal species in the genus Amphiprion which is closely related to the genus Premnas. The species' most closely related ancestor is Amphiprion percula, the Orange clownfish. It is thought that A. ocellaris specialized after diverging from the Premnas genus, and scientific evidence confirms that all clownfish belonging to the genus Amphiprion could withstand the stings of only one type of anemone, after further diverging the 28 different species of clownfish including A. ocellaris specialized to be able to resist the poisonous stings of many different species.
The common clownfish is a small fish which grows up to 11 cm (4.3 inches). Its body has a stocky appearance and oval shape. It is compressed laterally, with a round profile. The coloration of its body is orange to reddish-brown, but it can also be black in some particular areas such as the Northern Territory in Australia. It has three vertical white stripes outlined with a fine black line. The first passes just behind the eye, the second in the middle of the body widens forward to the head centrally and the third one circles the caudal peduncle. All the fins are also outlined with a fine black line. A. ocellaris is often confused with Amphiprion percula, which possesses exactly the same colours and patterns at first sight but distinguishes itself by the thickness of the black outlines. Additionally, A. ocellaris has a taller dorsal fin, and typically possesses 11 dorsal-fin spines vs. 10 spines in Amphiprion percula.
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Wikipedia