Amphiprion

The genus Amphiprion or Clownfish belongs to the family Pomacentridae. There are currently about 29 officially described Amphiprion species. This genus, together with Premnas biaculeatus, forms the entire subfamily Amphiprioninae.

Genus name

The genus name Amphiprion consists of two parts. ‘Amphi’ comes from Greek and means ‘around’ or ‘on both sides’. ‘Prion’ also comes from Greek and means ‘saw’. This is a reference to the deeply serrated sub- and preoperculum.

Origin

Amphiprion are found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. They live there in symbiosis with different types of anemones, depending on the species of clownfish they choose the right anemone.

Sea Anemone

The mucus layer of the Amphiprion is matched to that of the anemones so that the anemone does not fire its nettle poison at the clownfish. The Amphiprion feeds on food remains of the anemone, parasites, but also keeps the anemone’s natural enemies such as butterflyfish at bay.