Anthias (genus) explained

Anthias is a genus of colourful fishes in the subfamily Anthiadinae. Most species are found at deep reefs in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, often well below depths reachable to a scuba diver. A single species, A. noeli, is found at deep reefs in the East Pacific.

They are red, pink, orange, or yellow, and the largest species reach 29cm (11inches) in length. They typically occur in groups that feed on zooplankton.

Species

In the past, this genus included far more species, but these have now been moved to other genera, for example Callanthias, Odontanthias, and Pseudanthias. Based on FishBase, these species are currently included in Anthias:

• Anthias anthias (Linnaeus, 1758) swallowtail sea perch
• Anthias asperilinguis Günther, 1859 jeweled gemfish
• Anthias cyprinoides (Katayama & Amaoka, 1986) Pagalu swallowtail
• Anthias helenensis Katayama & Amaoka, 1986 Saint Helena swallowtail
• Anthias menezesi Anderson & Heemstra, 1980^[1] Brazilian swallowtail
• Anthias nicholsi Firth, 1933 yellowfin bass
• Anthias noeli Anderson & Baldwin, 2000 rosy jewelfish
• Anthias woodsi Anderson & Heemstra, 1980^[1] swallowtail bass

Notes and References

1. Anderson. William D. Jr.. Heemstra. Phillip C.. Two New Species of Western Atlantic Anthias (Pisces: Serranidae), Redescription of A. asperilinguis and Review of Holanthias martinicensis. Copeia. 1980. 1980. 1. 72–87. 1444135. 10.2307/1444135.