Maroon clownfish

Poisson-clown épineux

Scientific name : Amphiprion biaculeatus

Family : Pomacentridae (damselfish, beetles and clownfish, 418 species)
Size : Up to 17 cm
Distribution : Tropical Indo-Pacific, from Taiwan to Australia

Biology : Its name comes from the small spine on its cheek, which a priori has no real defensive role.
Long considered a very different species from other clownfish because of its spine, molecular biology has revealed that it is in fact very close to the three-banded clownfish, with which it can sometimes hybridize.

IUCN status : Least concern