フレイムエンゼルフィッシュのマルケサンバリエーションCentropyge loriculus、Nuku Hiva、マルケサス、フランス領ポリネシアの写真素材

Flame Angel Centropyge loriculus occurs in the tropical Pacific Ocean on most islands of Oceania. The species is found in clear lagoon and seaward reefs from the lower surge zone to a depth of 60m, usually below 20m, max. length 15cm. However, its occurrence varies from common to very rare: In French Polynesia it's a common species, e.g. in the Hawaiian Islands a rare one. Flame Angel feeds on algae and forms harems of 3-7 individuals. This is an extremely shy and secretive species, staying always near shelter; it's not easy to take a picture! Individuals from Marquesan waters exhibit a notable difference in coloration: some have only a single spot behind the operculum, and none were observed with all the bars usually present in this species. Genetic analyses, however, confirmed that they are indeed a single species. Nuku Hiva, Marquesas, French Polynesia 8°57'35.568 S 140°10'21.612 W at 22m depth