Barrier Reef Anemonefish

The Barrier Reef anemonefish (Amphiprion akindynos) lives in lagoons and on outer reefs of the Great Barrier Reef, the Coral Sea, northern New South Wales, New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands, and Tonga. Its scientific name comes from the Greek for safe or without danger, a reference to the protection the fish finds among its host anemone's tentacles. Adults reach 12 to 13 centimeters and are orange brown with two black edged white bands, one behind the eyes and one below the dorsal fin, and a white tail; it hosts on six of the ten known anemonefish host species and was recently found living as deep as 50 to 65 meters on mesophotic reefs, well below the 25 meter limit once thought typical for the species.