Butterflyfish

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Butterflyfishes
Temporal range: 72–0  Ma
Chaetodontidae.jpg
Various examples of butterflyfishes, along with angelfishes
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Percoidei
Family: Chaetodontidae
Rafinesque, 1810
Genera

About 10, see text

Synonyms

Chaetodontinae (but see text)

The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. The approximately 129 species in 12 genera [1] are found mostly on the reefs of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. A number of species pairs occur in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, members of the huge genus Chaetodon .

Contents

Butterflyfish look like smaller versions of angelfish (Pomacanthidae), but unlike these, lack preopercle spines at the gill covers. Some members of the genus Heniochus resemble the Moorish idol (Zanclus cornutus) of the monotypic Zanclidae. Among the paraphyletic Perciformes, the former are probably not too distantly related to butterflyfish, whereas the Zanclidae seem far less close.

Description and ecology

A school of false Moorish idols, Heniochus diphreutes Schooling bannerfish.JPG
A school of false Moorish idols, Heniochus diphreutes

Butterflyfish mostly range from 12 to 22 cm (4.7 to 8.7 in) in length. The largest species, the lined butterflyfish and the saddle butterflyfish, C. ephippium, grow to 30 cm (12 in). The common name references the brightly coloured and strikingly patterned bodies of many species, bearing shades of black, white, blue, red, orange, and yellow. Other species are dull in colour. Butterflyfish are a boundless, different group of marine percoids with delegates on practically all coral reef frameworks and in every single tropical ocean. Their bright and color patterns have drawn in much consideration, creating an abundance of data about their conduct and environment. [2] Many have eyespots on their flanks and dark bands across their eyes, not unlike the patterns seen on butterfly wings. [3] Their deep, laterally narrow bodies are easily noticed through the profusion of reef life. The conspicuous coloration of butterflyfish may be intended for interspecies communication. Butterflyfish have uninterrupted dorsal fins with tail fins that may be rounded or truncated, but are never forked.

Generally diurnal and frequenting waters less than 18 m (59 ft) deep (though some species descend to 180 m (590 ft), butterflyfish stick to particular home ranges. These corallivores are especially territorial, forming pairs and staking claim to a specific coral head. Contrastingly, the zooplankton feeders form large conspecific groups. By night, butterflyfish hide in reef crevices and exhibit markedly different coloration.

Their coloration also makes them popular aquarium fish. However, most species feed on coral polyps and sea anemones. Balancing the relative populations of prey and predator is complex, leading hobby aquarists to focus on the few generalists and specialist zooplankton feeders.

Butterflyfish are pelagic spawners; that is, they release many buoyant eggs into the water, which become part of the plankton, floating with the currents until hatching. The fry go through a tholichthys stage, wherein the body of the postlarval fish is covered in large, bony plates extending from the head. They lose their bony plates as they mature. [3] Only one other family of fish, the scats (Scatophagidae) express such an armored stage.

Taxonomy, systematics and evolution

The Chaetodontidae can be, but are not usually, divided into two lineages that arguably are subfamilies. The subfamily name Chaetodontinae is a little-used leftover from the period when the Pomacanthidae and Chaetodontidae were united under the latter name as a single family. Hence, Chaetodontinae is today considered a junior synonym of Chaetodontidae. In any case, one lineage of Chaetodontidae (in the modern sense) contains the "typical" butterflyfish around Chaetodon, while the other unites the bannerfish and coralfish genera. As the Perciformes are highly paraphyletic, the precise relationships of the Chaetodontidae as a whole are badly resolved. [4]

Chaetodontidae is classified within the suborder Percoidei by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World , but they are placed in an unnamed clade which sits outside the superfamily Percoidea. This clade contains 7 families which appear to have some relationship to Acanthuroidei, Monodactylidae, and Priacanthidae. [5] Other authorities have paced the family in the order Chaetodontiformes alongside the family Leiognathidae. [6]

Before DNA sequencing, the taxonomy was confused about whether to treat these as species or subspecies. Also, numerous subgenera have been proposed for splitting out of Chaetodon, and it is becoming clear how to subdivide the genus if that is desired. [7]

The fossil record of this group is marginal. Their restriction to coral reefs means their carcasses are liable to be dispersed by scavengers, overgrown by corals, and any that do fossilize will not long survive erosion. However, Pygaeus , a very basal fossil from the mid- to late Eocene of Europe, dates from around the Bartonian 40–37 million years ago (Mya). Thus, the Chaetodontidae emerged probably in the early to mid-Eocene. A crude molecular clock in combination with the evidence given by Pygaeus allows placement of the initial split between the two main lineages to the middle to late Eocene, and together with the few other fossils, it allows the deduction that most living genera were probably distinct by the end of the Paleogene 23 Mya. [8]

Genera

The bannerfish-coralfish lineage can be further divided in two groups; these might be considered tribes, but have not been formally named. Genera are listed in order of the presumed phylogeny, from the most ancient to the youngest: [4] [9]

Bannerfish/coralfish lineage 1:

Bannerfish/coralfish lineage 2:

The "typical" butterflyfishes may eventually come to contain more genera; see Chaetodon :

Timeline

QuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleist.Plio.MioceneOligoceneEocenePaleoceneChelmonChaetodonQuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleist.Plio.MioceneOligoceneEocenePaleoceneButterflyfish

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<i>Chaetodon</i> Genus of fishes

Chaetodon is a tropical fish genus in the family Chaetodontidae. Like their relatives, they are known as "butterflyfish". This genus is by far the largest among the Chaetodontidae, with about 90 living species included here, though most might warrant recognition as distinct genera.

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

The blue-cheeked butterflyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the northwestern Indian Ocean.

<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.

<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">Blacktail butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The blacktail butterflyfish, also known as black-tailed butterflyfish or exquisite butterflyfish, is a species marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is native to the western Indian Ocean but has reached the Mediterranean Sea as a Lessepsian migrant through the Suez Canal.

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

Chaetodon citrinellus is a species of butterflyfish. It is commonly known as the speckled butterflyfish or citron butterflyfish. It is found in the Indo-Pacific: the Red Sea, East Africa to the Hawaiian, Marquesan and Tuamotu islands, north to southern Japan and south to Australia.

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

The black-backed butterflyfish or blackback butterflyfish is a species of butterflyfish. It is widespread through the Indo-Pacific area from the Red Sea and East Africa to Samoa, to southern Japan and throughout Micronesia.

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

The Eritrean butterflyfish or crown butterflyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is essentially just known from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, but has been reported from East Africa. It grows up to 14 cm (5.5 in) in length. It is white with black chevrons, except for a red zone stretching from the aft dorsal fin across the caudal peduncle to the end of the anal fin. A red bar runs vertically through the caudal fin. There are black eyestripes and a black "crown" with white border.

<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">Indian vagabond butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The Indian vagabond butterflyfish, also known as the blackened butterflyfish or black-finned vagabond, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indo-West Pacific, from the Maldives via India, Sri Lanka and the Andaman Sea to the westernmost portion of the Indonesian archipelago.

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

The mirror butterflyfish or oval-spot butterflyfish is a species of butterflyfish. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region from Indonesia to Japan and south to the Great Barrier Reef and Papua New Guinea. The species has also been reported from Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion.

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

The scrawled butterflyfish, also known as Meyer's butterflyfish or the maypole 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">Eastern triangle butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The eastern triangle butterflyfish, also known as the baroness butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the central Indo-West Pacific region from the Cocos-Keeling Islands and Indonesia in the eastern Indian Ocean to Fiji and Tonga, north to southern Japan, south to New Caledonia and New South Wales in Australia.

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

The bluelashed butterflyfish, also known as the eclipse butterflyfish, archer butterflyfish or Bennett's butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae, It is found in the Indo-Pacific.

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

The spot-banded butterflyfish or spotband butterflyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is from the western Pacific Ocean.

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

The Spot-naped Butterflyfish, also known as the pig-face butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish. a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indo- West Pacific region from Sri Lanka to Queensland, north to Indonesia and the Philippines.

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

The latticed butterflyfish, also known as Raffles’ coralfish, 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">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 mertensii</i> Species of fish

Chaetodon mertensii, the atoll butterflyfish, yellowback butterflyfish or Merten's butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the western Pacific Ocean.

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

Chaetodon pelewensis, the dot dash butterflyfish, spotbanded butterflyfish or punctato butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the western Pacific Ocean.

References

General
Specific
  1. "FAMILY Details for Chaetodontidae - Butterflyfishes". www.fishbase.org.
  2. Smith, W. (2003). The evolution of the laterophysic connection with a revised phylogeny and taxonomy of butterflyfishes (Teleostei: Chaetodontidae). Cladistics the International Journal of the Willi Hennig Society., 19(4), 287–306. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0748-3007(03)00070-7
  3. 1 2 Johnson, G.D.; Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 184. ISBN   978-0-12-547665-2.
  4. 1 2 Fessler & Westneat (2007)
  5. J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. p. 453. ISBN   978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  6. R. Betancur-Rodriguez; E. Wiley; N. Bailly; A. Acero; M. Miya; G. Lecointre; G. Ortí (2017). "Phylogenetic Classification of Bony Fishes – Version 4". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (162): 162. doi: 10.1186/s12862-017-0958-3 . PMC   5501477 . PMID   28683774.
  7. Fessler & Westneat (2007), Hsu et al. (2007)
  8. Sepkoski (2002), Fessler & Westneat (2007)
  9. Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2013). "Chaetodontidae" in FishBase . February 2013 version.