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Entry 901Filed under Breeding

Do Angelfish Have Spines? Where to Find Them

Angelfish have spines, but their anatomy differs: freshwater species have spiny fin rays, while marine angelfish also have a characteristic cheek-area spine.
1-minute read By Animalso Team
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Yes. Angelfish have spines, but their location depends on which fish you mean. Freshwater angelfish have spiny rays in the dorsal and anal fins; marine angelfish also have a distinctive spine on the lower cheek, near the gill cover.

Where are angelfish spines?

Freshwater angelfish

Freshwater angelfish, such as Pterophyllum scalare, have spiny rays in the dorsal fin along the back and the anal fin on the underside toward the tail. The Swedish Museum of Natural History FishBase field guide describes these spiny rays as increasing in length from the front toward the back of each fin (Pterophyllum scalare).

Marine angelfish

Marine angelfishes in the family Pomacanthidae have spines in their dorsal and anal fins, plus a prominent spine at the angle of the preopercle. The preopercle is a bone in the gill-cover area behind the eye. The Aquarium of the Pacific describes the cheek-area spine as extending back horizontally from the lower cheek (King Angelfish); the FAO family account likewise identifies a strong spine at the preopercle’s angle (Angelfishes (Pomacanthidae)).

Do all angelfish have the same number of spines?

No. Counts vary by species, and a count for one marine angelfish should not be applied to all fish called angelfish. For example, the Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility account for the two-spined angelfish (Centropyge bispinosa) lists 14 dorsal-fin spines and three anal-fin spines. It lists soft rays separately; those are not included in the spine counts (Centropyge bispinosa).

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How the marine cheek spine helps distinguish angelfish

The preopercular spine is a characteristic feature of marine angelfishes in Pomacanthidae. Butterflyfishes lack this spine, making it one feature that can help distinguish the two groups. The Australian Museum’s Blackspot Angelfish profile describes the family-level distinction (Blackspot Angelfish).

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