Common Name: Wideband Anemonefish
Scientific Name: Amphiprion latifasciatus Allen 1972
Distribution: Northwest Madagascar, Mayotte, Comoros
Type Locality: Ambariobe Bay, Nosy Be, Madagascar
Identification: Two stripes, the middle stripe variable in width (increasing with age) but typically quite wide and often appearing somewhat dusky dorsally. Body orange, but heavily darkened throughout most of the body. Fins bright orange; large females sometimes develop a darker dorsal fin. Occasional specimens (males?) have the caudal fin clear medially.
Similar: The population from the southeast of Madagascar differs in having a thinner middle stripe. Both sexes in these southern A. cf latifasciatus have the caudal fin margined in yellow, never having it fully yellow. The population from the northeast of Madagascar is even more similar, with the middle stripe usually being slightly wider and the soft dorsal fin and caudal fin margined in white.
Notes: More study is needed to determine the full extent of this species’ distribution and whether it hybridizes with any of the other species in this region. The type locality is Nosy Be, Madagascar.
This was once one of the rarest and most expensive species in the aquarium trade, selling for thousands of dollars, but it has since been captive bred in large numbers and is now quite affordable.
Amphiprionology 