The Old Woman Angelfish, Pomacanthus rhomboides is clearly the odd duck in the entire family of angelfish species. Its curious behavior with divers somewhat makes up for its drab coloration but it’s well behind the Cortez Angelfish on the attractiveness scale.
Despite these ‘ornamental challenges’, this fish still likes to mix and match and hybridize just like virtually all the other species of angelfish. Today’s documented hybrid is a cross between the Old Woman angelfish, and the type-O Negative universal gene donor of Pomacanthus, the Koran angelfish.
This short video clip was shared with us by Zach Lin which he made while diving in South Africa. According to him, he was blown off course by a strong current and ended up running into this curious creature.
The somber coloration of the Old Woman angelfish mostly dominates the appearance of this fish. But you can clearly see the light colored face and eyes looking back at you through the Rhomboides-shroud.
