Angelfish

Holacanthus bermudensis has a deep, oval-shaped body that is strongly lateral compressed. It has a short snout with a small mouth that contains small teeth, like the bristles of a brush. The juveniles are yellowish on the anterior part of the body changing to brownish-yellow halfway along. They have a vivid yellow caudal, pectoral and pelvic fins. They also have a number of vertical white bars on the body with bright blue margins to the dorsal and anal fins. The adults are bluish yellowish on the body with a vivid yellow face. They have blue highlights on the chest and forehead and blue and yellow pectoral fins while the caudal fin has yellow margins. The dorsal and anal fins also have yellow margins and long yellow streamers. The dorsal fin contains 15 spines and 19–21 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 20–21 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of 45 centimetres (18 in).

Holacanthus bermudensis is found in the western Atlantic from North Carolina to Bermuda, into the Bahamas and Florida to the Gulf of Mexico, and also to Yucatan, Mexico in the west and east to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Holacanthus bermudensis is a benthic species, living close to the seabed where there are areas of sponges, coral, or rock at depths between 2 and 93 metres (6.6 and 305.1 ft). It is a diurnal species, active in daylight and hiding within the reef at night. Juveniles prefer more sheltered area such as bays, channels, and inshore reefs. This species has a diet that comprises largely of sponges although they have been occasionally recorded feeding on tunicates, corals, and algae. The juveniles act as cleaner fish, feeding on the ectoparasites picked from the skin of other fishes visiting communal cleaning stations. They have the ability to produce loud thumping sounds which are thought to startle predators and draw the attention of conspecifics.