Cortez Angelfish, Pomacanthus zonipectus

Cortez Angelfish, Pomacanthus zonipectus, Juveniles. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, March and November 2018. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

Cortez Angelfish, Pomacanthus zonipectus, Juvenile. Fish caught off the pier in Santo Domingo, Baja California Sur, February 2017. Length: 19 cm (7.5 inches). Catch courtesy of Ruben Duran, Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur. Photograph and identification courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Cortez Angelfish, Pomacanthus zonipectus. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters off Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, September 2021. Photograph courtesy of Kevin Erwin, Seattle, Washington.

Cortez Angelfish, Pomacanthus zonipectus. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters off Buena Vista, Baja California Sur, June 2017. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Cortez Angelfish, Pomacanthus zonipectus. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2018. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

The Cortez Angelfish, Pomacanthus zonipectus, is a member of the Angelfish or Pomacanthidae Family, and is known in Mexico as ángel de Cortés. Globally, there are fourteen species in the genus Pomacanthus, of which three are found in Mexican waters, two in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific Ocean.

The Cortez Angelfish has a deep compressed rectangular shaped body and they vary significantly in color. They generally have gray bodies that are darker in the front and that feature a broad yellow band just behind the cheek margin, a second narrower yellow band bordered in black just behind the pectoral fin base, and a lighter yellow caudal fin. Juveniles are black with 6 curved alternating yellow and blue bands on the head, body and caudal fin. The adult heads have a conspicuous bump above the eye and feature a small mouth with brush-like teeth. The gill covers have a long spine attached. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 20 to 22 rays; their caudal fin has a straight margin; and, their dorsal fin  is continuous and has 11 spines and 24 to 25 rays. Their anal and dorsal fins end in filaments and their caudal fins are straight. Their bodies are covered with rough scales. Their lateral line is complete.

The Cortez Angelfish reside over and within rocky reefs at depths up to 50 m (165 feet). They are found either as solitary individuals or in pairs. They reach a maximum of 50 cm (19.7 inches) in length. They have the ability to generate a powerful drumming or thumping sound. Juveniles are known as “cleaners”, removing parasites from the surfaces of other fish. The Cortez Angelfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Cortez Angelfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The Cortez Angelfish are an easy fish to identify due to their unique coloration and are therefore difficult to confuse with other species.

From a conservation perspective the Cortez Angelfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern, with stable, widely distributed populations. The Cortez Angelfish is of interest to scuba divers, being fairly abundant in certain parts of the Sea of Cortez. They are not of interest to recreational anglers and when caught they are a typical “catch and release” and only retained by subsistence fishermen.