Black butterflyfish

Last updated

Black butterflyfish
Chaetodon flavirostris 1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Chaetodontidae
Genus: Chaetodon
Subgenus: Chaetodon (Rabdophorus)
Species:
C. flavirostris
Binomial name
Chaetodon flavirostris
Günther, 1874
Synonyms [2]
  • Chaetodontops flavirostris(Günther, 1874)
  • Chaetodon aphrodite Ogilby, 1889
  • Chaetodon dorsiocellatus Ahl, 1923

The Black Butterflyfish (Chaetodon flavirostris), also known as the dusky butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finnedfish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is native to the Pacific Ocean.

Contents

Description

The black butterflyfish has a darkish bluish-grey body with a contrasting white mouth, and a narrow yellow band on its snout. There is a dark darker bump on the forehead. The dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are yellow. [3] There is an orange band which runs across the dorsal and anal fins and across the caudal peduncle, these fins also have black margins, as does the tail. Juveniles have paler grey bodies and yellow median fins. [4] The dorsal fin has 12-13 spines and 24-27 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 20-21 soft rays. This species reaches a maximum total length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in). [2]

Distribution

The black butterflyfish is found in the southern Pacific Ocean where it occurs from the Great Barrier Reef and New South Wales, Lord Howe Island east as far as Easter Island, including American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Niue, Norfolk Island, Pitcairn Island, Samoa, the Solomon Island, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna. The record from Easter Island is thought to refer to a vagrant. [1] It is also found in the Indian Ocean in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. [5]

Habitat and biology

The black butterflyfish is found at depths of 2 to 20 metres (6.6 to 65.6 ft) [1] in rocky areas which have good coverage of coral and algae in lagoons and on seaward reefs, they can occur in estuaries. It is an omnivorous species, consuming algae, coral, and small benthic invertebrates. They are oviparous and breed as pairs. They also live as a pair. [2] In some areas aggregations are known. The juveniles are found in protected inner reefs. [1]

Systematics

The black butterflyfish was first formally described in 1874 by the German born British ichthyologist Albert Günther (1830-1914) with the type locality given as Vavau, Tonga. [6] It belongs to the large subgenus Rabdophorus which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus. In this group close relatives appear to be the diagonal butterflyfish (Chaetodon fasciatus), the raccoon butterflyfish (C. lunula) and the Philippine butterflyfish (C. adiergastos), and perhaps also the unusual red-tailed butterflyfish (C. collare). Although the colouration of this group varies quite a lot, they are all largish butterflyfishes with an oval outline, and most have a pattern of ascending oblique stripes on the flanks. Except in the red-tailed butterflyfish, there is at least a vestigial form of the "raccoon" mask, with a white space between the dark crown and eye areas. [7] [8]

Utilisation

The black butterflyfish is occasionally found in the aquarium trade [1] but this species does not thrive in captivity and has a poor survival rate in transit too. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raccoon butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The raccoon butterflyfish, also known as the crescent-masked butterflyfish, lunule butterflyfish, halfmoon butterflyfish, moon butterflyfish, raccoon butterfly, raccoon, raccoon coralfish, and redstriped butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teardrop butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The teardrop butterflyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the (family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redtail butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The red-tailed butterflyfish, also known as the brown butterflyfish, Pakistani butterflyfish or redtail butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diagonal butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The diagonal butterflyfish, also known as the Red Sea raccoon butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Red Sea and western Indian Ocean.

<i>Chaetodon ulietensis</i> Species of fish

Chaetodon ulietensis, the Pacific double-saddle butterflyfish or false falcula butterflyfish, is a species of butterflyfish. It flourishes in coral-rich environments in the central Indo-Pacific region. Their range extends from the Cocos-Keeling Islands to the Tuamotu Islands, and north to Japan. They are usually found from the surface to 20 m depths, and like shallow channels with high current.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevron butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The chevron butterflyfish, also known as chevroned butterflyfish, triangulate butterflyfish or V-lined butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melon butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The melon butterflyfish or the Indian redfin butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indian Ocean from East Africa to Western Java. This is one species of a closely related group which includes the blacktail butterflyfish of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and the oval butterflyfish which is found in the western Pacific, from eastern coasts of the Indonesian islands to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oval butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The oval butterflyfish, red-finned butterflyfish or redfin butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean from Eastern Indonesia to the Hawaiian islands. This is one species of a closely related group which includes the Blacktail butterflyfish, which is found in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and the Melon butterflyfish, which is found in the Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dotted butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The dotted butterflyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish. a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eightband butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The eight-banded Butterflyfish, also known as the eightband butterflyfish or eight-striped butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region where it is associated with reefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The Philippine butterflyfish, the Bantayan butterflyfish or panda butterflyfish,, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the western Pacific, from the Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan to Java and northwestern Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peppered butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The peppered butterflyfish is a species marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish from the. It is found in the Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-dotted butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The Yellow-dotted Butterflyfish is a poorly known marine ray-finned fish species, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indi-Western Pacific Region.

<i>Chaetodon falcula</i> Species of fish

Chaetodon falcula, the blackwedged butterflyfish or falcula butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indian Ocean.

<i>Chaetodon pictus</i> Species of fish

Chaetodon pictus, the horseshoe butterflyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. This species is found in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and around Oman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mailed butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The mailed butterflyfish, also known as the reticulated butterflyfish or black butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae, This species is found on reefs in the central and western Pacific Ocean. It can be found in the aquarium trade.

<i>Chaetodon wiebeli</i> Species of fish

Chaetodon wiebeli, commonly known as the Hong Kong butterflyfish, Wiebel's butterflyfish or blackcap butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is native to the Western Pacific Ocean.

<i>Chaetodon plebeius</i> Species of fish

Chaetodon plebeius, the blueblotch butterflyfish, bluespot butterflyfish, bluedash butterflyfish or grey-blotched butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

<i>Chaetodon gardineri</i> Species of fish

Chaetodon gardineri, Gardiner's butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is native to the Indian Ocean.

<i>Chaetodon aureofasciatus</i> Species of fish

Chaetodon aureofasciatus, the golden butterflyfish, golden- banded butterflyfish, golden-striped butterflyfish or sunburst butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. This coral eating species is found on shallow reefs in the western Pacific Ocean.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Myers, R.F.; Pratchett, M. (2010). "Chaetodon flavirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010: e.T165688A6091974. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165688A6091974.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Chaetodon flavirostris" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. 1 2 "Chaetodon flavirostris". Saltcorner. Bob Goemans. 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "Chaetodon flavirostris". Reef Life Survey. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  5. ↑ Bray, D.J. & Thompson, A.S. (2018). "Chaetodon flavirostris". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  6. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Chaetodon". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  7. ↑ Fessler, Jennifer L.; Westneat, Mark W (2007). "Molecular phylogenetics of the butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae): Taxonomy and biogeography of a global coral reef fish family". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45 (1): 50–68. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.05.018.
  8. ↑ Hsu, Kui-Ching; Chen, Jeng-Ping & Shao, Kwang-Tsao (2007). "Molecular phylogeny of Chaetodon (Teleostei: Chaetodontidae) in the Indo-West Pacific: evolution in geminate species pairs and species groups" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement. 14: 77–86. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-11. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.