Yellowtail Angelfish

Apolemichthys xanthurus has a body with a cream background colour with a network of dark lines on the scales creating a lattice pattern over this. The edges of the body are a solid dark colour. The caudal fin is bright yellow while the dorsal and anal fins are black with a white margin. Like the closely related Apolemichthys xanthotis this species has a yellow spot on the upper preoperculum but the black on the head does not extend as far as this spot, contrasting less with its background. The juveniles have a wide black band running over the eye and an oblique area of black on the back, this patch fades as the fish matures. The dorsal fin contains 14 spines and 17–19 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 17–18 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of 15 centimetres (5.9 in).

Apolemichthys xanthurus is found in the Indian Ocean. It occurs in the Mascarenes, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and the eastern coast of India. It has been recorded off Myanmar and Thailand and reported from Sulawesi.