Cocopeel Angelfish

Centropyge cocosensis is a brightly colored angelfish that resembles the lemonpeel angelfish (Centropyge flavissima). As a recently discovered angelfish, this species is the colour of a lemonpeel angel, with a blue margined gill operculum, spine and fins; a conspicuous blue iris and faint blue eye ring surrounding the eye. In alcohol, its colour is uniformly yellowish with dark eye and dark posterior dorsal, anal and caudal fin margins; which differs from C. flavissima (and 2 other species of this species complex) by nucleotide quasisynapomorphies at the CO1 locus, these include G at both nucleotide sites 247 and 366 of the gene. Little is known about this fish, including maximum length, breeding habits, and food preferences.

Centropyge cocosensis is known only from Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Eastern Indian Ocean.