ClownsIndonesia

Regional Accounts: Damsels of Indonesia (Excluding Clowns),

/Fishwatcher's Guide Series

Indonesian Anemonefishes, Family Pomacentridae

Bob Fenner

Genus Amphiprion:

Amphiprion akallopisos Bleeker 1853, Skunk Anemonefish. Pink to orangish in color, with narrow white mid-line stripe. Indian Ocean; Madagascar, Seychelles to Andaman Sea and Java. To four inches in length. Naturally found in Heteractis magnifica and Stichodactyla mertensii as is this specimen in the Seychelles.

Amphiprion chrysopterus Cuvier 1830, the Orange-Fin Anemonefish. West to mid Pacific; Australia, New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Tuamotus. Yellowish-orange accents on upper and lower body and yellow tail. To six inches. Found in three species of anemones in the wild. Some in captivity.

Amphiprion clarkii (Bennett 1830), Clarkii or Yellowtail Clownfish. Indo-West Pacific; Persian Gulf to Western Australia to Melanesia, Micronesia. To six inches in length. The most variable species of the subfamily. Blackish to brown body color, third white body bar on caudal peduncle, white or yellow tail. At right in N. Sulawesi. Below: Juvenile in Queensland Australia, adult in the Maldives (typical dark color as with most individuals found with Stichodactyla mertensii), and lastly aquarium image.

Amphiprion ephippium (Bloch 1790), the Red Saddle Anemonefish. Eastern Indian Ocean; Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Thailand, Malaysia, Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. To five and a half inches maximum length. This three inch female in the Singapore Aquarium. Body, fins orange to reddish.

Amphiprion frenatus Brevoort 1856, the Tomato Clownfish. Found in several island groups in the Western Pacific. To five and a half inches in length in the wild. This one in Australia with a Bubble Tip Anemone, Entacmaea quadricolor which the species most often pairs with. Similar to A. melanopus, but with a narrower white head band.

Amphiprion melanopus Bleeker 1852, the Red and Black Anemonefish, Melanopus Clown. Variable amounts of red and black, with or w/o a "Tomato Clown" like single white head bar. Indonesia, to the Society and Marshall Islands. To nearly five inches in length. Most often found with Entacmaea quadricolor as anemone symbiont. Here in Queensland and N. Sulawesi.

Amphiprion ocellaris Cuvier 1830, the "False" Percula or Clown Anemonefish, or Ocellaris Clown. Indo-West Pacific; eastern Indian Ocean to Australia, to Philippines, to southern Japan. To a little over four inches maximum length. Bred in captivity including beautiful northwest Regular and Australian dark variety mid-juvenile and adult below. Orange overall (except for melanistic forms), with three broad continuous body bars with narrow black margins (vs. thick ones in A. percula).

Amphiprion percula (Lacepede 1802), the "True" Percula or Orange Clownfish. Western Pacific; New Guinea, GBR, Solomon Islands, Melanesia. To about four inches in length. Mutualistic with Stoichactis and Radianthus anemones.

Amphiprion perideraion Bleeker 1855, the Pink Anemonefish. Indo-Pacific. To four inches in length. Narrow midline white stripe and head barring. One in a Heteractis magnifica in Western Australia, another in Mabul, Malaysia.

Amphiprion polymnus (Linnaeus 1758), the Saddleback Clownfish. Western Pacific; Ryukyu Islands to the Gulf of Thailand, Indonesia. Northern Australia and Solomon Islands. To five inches in length. Distinctive saddle-like marking on mid-body. This pair in a typical silty/sandy setting in a Stichodactyla haddoni anemone (also inhabits Heteractis crispa in the wild), off Pulau Redang, Malaysia, and in an aquarium. Below, some darker different colored ones from N. Sulawesi.

Amphiprion sandaracinos Allen 1972, the Yellow or Eastern Skunk Clownfish. Indo-West Pacific; Christmas Island and Western Australia in the eastern Indian Ocean to the Ryukyu and Solomon Islands in the western Pacific. Note the orange body color and wide white stripe that extends down to the upper lip, differentiating this from other "Skunk Clowns". One in Pulau Redang, Malaysia, another in N. Sulawesi.

Amphiprion sebae Bleeker 1853, the Sebae Clownfish. Dark brown to black, two wide white body bars, the second slanting backward on the upper flank, extending to end of dorsal fin. Orange to yellow tail. To five inches in length. Most often fishes sold under this name in the pet-fish trade are actually Clark's Clownfish. Found all along the northern Indian Ocean. Here in N. Sulawesi, with eggs and a Haddoni carpet anemone.

Genus Premnas:

Premnas biaculeatus (Bloch 1790), the Spine-Cheek Anemonefish, Maroon Clownfish. Bright red to orange body and fins, with three narrow white body bars and prominent opercular spine. Females to six inches, males about half that size.

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