Species: Pomacanthus paru, French Angelfish

Pomacanthus paru (Bloch, 1787)

French Angelfish

Deep, almost circular, compressed body; head deep, snout short; mouth small, with brush-like teeth; preopercle with a large spine at its angle, with vertical margin smooth; bone between preopercle and operculum without spines; bone under eye without large, rear-pointing spines; dorsal fin un-notched, X, 29-31; anal rays III, 22-24; front soft rays of dorsal and anal fin with filaments; tail fin bluntly rounded in adult; body with large and small scales, irregularly arranged, very rough, with distinct ridges on the exposed part; >70 lateral scales; scales extend out onto the median fins; without "axillary process" (an enlarged scale) at the base of the pelvic fins; lateral line complete.

Adult: dark grey, with bright yellow rims to scales; fins black, base of pectoral yellow. Juvenile: black, with 3 yellow bars; tail black, entirely edged with yellow; center of forehead with a yellow line forms an inverted Y branching down sides of mouth.

Size: to 40 cm.

Habitat: reefs; juveniles common in seagrass beds.

Depth: 1-157 m.

New York to Brazil.