Plainer than the French angelfish, with a square-cut tail and a white mouth. The two are separated on the tail shape and on whether the pectoral base carries a yellow bar.
To about 60 cm, half again the size of the french angelfish. Uniform grey to grey-brown with dark-centred, pale-edged scales, darker brown on the head, chest and fins, a white chin and mouth region, a grey outer pectoral base with yellow inside it, and a pale rear margin to the tail. Juveniles are black with three yellow bars and the squared-off, clear-edged tail described on the french angelfish page.
The white chin is the positive adult mark. The french angelfish’s yellow scale rims are absent here.
Two to a hundred metres on reef and the soft bottom beside it, with juveniles common in seagrass. It is monogamous, but the pairs range over an area without defending an exclusive territory, which is the practical behavioural difference from the french angelfish. Juveniles clean. Adults are bold and approach divers readily.
It eats sponges. It is rated Least Concern, but with high fishing vulnerability, very low resilience and a population doubling time of over fourteen years, and there is a significant aquarium trade in it.
Ratings are per location: 1 means found on most dives that look for it, 5 means a handful of records. Where enough dives have been logged the figure is calculated from them; otherwise it is an editorial estimate, and says so. We publish habitat and destination, not the dive site.