Butterflyfish

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Butterflyfishes
Temporal range: 72–0  Ma
Chaetodontidae.jpg
Various examples of butterflyfishes, along with angelfishes
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
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. Many have eyespots on their flanks and dark bands across their eyes, not unlike the patterns seen on butterfly wings. [2] 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. [2] 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. [3]

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. [4] Other authorities have paced the family in the order Chaetodontiformes alongside the family Leiognathidae. [5]

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. [6]

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. [7]

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: [3] Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2013). "Chaetodontidae" in FishBase . February 2013 version.

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>

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.

Bluecheek butterflyfish

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.

Threadfin butterflyfish

The threadfin butterflyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.

Raccoon butterflyfish

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.

Millet butterflyfish

The millet butterflyfish is a species of butterflyfish in the family Chaetodontidae. Other common names include the lemon butterflyfish and the millet-seed butterflyfish. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and the Johnston Atoll, where it is found at depths down to 250 m (820 ft). Although it has a limited range, it is common around Hawaii, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

Diagonal butterflyfish

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>

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.

Blacktail butterflyfish

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 Mediterraean Sea as a Lessepsian migrant through the Suez Canal.

Sunburst butterflyfish

The sunburst butterflyfish, also known as the black-lipped butterflyfish, "blacklip butterflyfish" or Klein's butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. This is an Indo-Pacific species of reef habitats.

Lined butterflyfish

The lined butterflyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish. a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae, one of the largest species in the genus Chaetodon. It has a wide range from the Red Sea to South Africa and as far east as southern Japan and Hawaii.

Pearlscale butterflyfish

The pearlscale butterflyfish, also known as yellow-tailed butterflyfish, crosshatch butterflyfish or Philippines chevron butterflyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae.

Saddle butterflyfish

The saddle 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 from Sri Lanka and the Cocos-Keeling Islands to the Hawaiian, Marquesan and Tuamotu islands, north to southern Japan, south to Rowley Shoals and New South Wales in Australia.

Dotted butterflyfish

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.

Spot-tail butterflyfish

The Spot-tailed Butterflyfish, Chaetodon ocellicaudus, 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 Malaysia to New Guinea, north to the Philippines and Palau in Micronesia.

Mirror butterflyfish

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.

Bluelashed butterflyfish

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.

Latticed butterflyfish

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.

Yellow-dotted butterflyfish 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 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.

References

General
Specific
  1. ↑ "FAMILY Details for Chaetodontidae - Butterflyfishes". www.fishbase.org.
  2. 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.
  3. 1 2 Fessler & Westneat (2007)
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ 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). doi: 10.1186/s12862-017-0958-3 .
  6. ↑ Fessler & Westneat (2007), Hsu et al. (2007)
  7. ↑ Sepkoski (2002), Fessler & Westneat (2007)
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