Orangeback angelfish

Centropyge acanthops

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth15–38 m
Water temperature20–29 °C
Best monthsApril, October, and November
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) Brian Gratwicke, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The orangeback angelfish, also known as the flameback angelfish, African pygmy angelfish and in South Africa as the Jumping Bean or Bean, is a species of ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the western Indian Ocean.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Orangeback angelfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 6 records
February: 8 records
March: 6 records
April: 11 records
May: 9 records
June: 9 records
July: 3 records
August: 5 records
September: 8 records
October: 14 records
November: 12 records
December: 7 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 15–38 m · Deepest record: 150 m

0–10 m: 1 records
10–20 m: 8 records
20–30 m: 13 records
30–40 m: 5 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C

20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 21 records
24–26 °C: 20 records
26–28 °C: 32 records
28–30 °C: 6 records

Photos

(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Ewout Knoester · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Georgina Jones, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) jeyre, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Georgina Jones, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Orangeback angelfish, African Cherubfish, African Pygmy Angelfish, Flameback Angelfish, Jumping Bean, orangeback angelfish

Names in 4 more languages

German: Orangerücken-Zwergkaiserfisch
Spanish: Ángel pigmeo africano
French: Poisson Ange à dos Flammé Africain, Poisson-ange nain africain
Simplified Chinese: 荊眼刺尻魚

Other scientific names: Centropyges acanthops, Holacanthus acanthops, Xiphipops acanthops

Similar species

Coral Beauty
Centropyge bispinosa
Lemon Peel
Centropyge flavissima
Flame Angel
Centropyge loriculus
Potter's Angel
Centropyge potteri
Bicolor angelfish
Centropyge bicolor
Damsel Angelfish
Centropyge fisheri

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
135 open-data records from 1922 to 2021.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

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