Teleostei (teleosts) >
Acanthuriformes (Surgeonfishes) >
Pomacanthidae (Angelfishes)
Etymology: Centropyge: Greek, kentron = sting + Greek, pyge = tail (Ref. 45335); cocosensis: Named for itts type locality, Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated. Tropical
Eastern Indian Ocean: Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
This species is distinguished by the following characters: colour of live individual is lemonpeel yellow with blue margined gill operculum, spine and fins; conspicuous blue iris and faint blue eye ring surrounding the eye; colour in alcohol is uniformly yellowish with dark eye and dark posterior dorsal, anal and caudal fin margins; differs from C. flavissima (and 2 other species of this specis complex) by nucleotide quasisynapomorphies at the CO1 locus, these include G at both nucleotide sites 247 and 366 of the gene (Ref. 116591).
Body shape (shape guide): short and / or deep; Cross section: compressed.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Shen, K.-N., C.-W. Chang, E. Delrieu-Trottin and P. Borsa, 2016. Lemonpeel (Centropyge flavissima) and yellow (C. heraldi) pygmy angelfishes each consist of two geographically isolated sibling species. Mar. Biodiv. (Ref. 116591)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources