Chaetodon mertensii

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Chaetodon mertensii
Chaetodon mertensii.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Chaetodontidae
Genus: Chaetodon
Subgenus: Rhombochaetodon
Species:
C. mertensii
Binomial name
Chaetodon mertensii
G. Cuvier, 1831

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.

Contents

Description

At Lord Howe Island, Australia ChaetodonMertensiiLHIRLS.jpg
At Lord Howe Island, Australia

Chaetodon mertensi grows to a maximum of 12.5 cm (5 in) long. Body color is white with 5-7 chevron-shaped dark grey bands on the sides. The posterior portion of the trunk, the adjacent dorsal and anal fins, and the posterior portion of the caudal fin are orange or yellow. A vertical black bar runs across the eye and over the nape without a break; in the similar species there is a separate nape spot and eyestripe. [2]

Habitat and biology

Chaetodon mertensi is found in deep lagoons and seaward reefs at 10–120 m depth. It feeds on algae and small benthic invertebrates. [2]

Distribution

Chaetodon mertensii is found in the Pacific Ocean from the Ryukyu Islands to the Philippines and extending to Lord Howe Island, Rapa Iti and the Tuamotus. [2] It was first recorded from the Kermadec Islands Marine Reserve north of New Zealand in 2015, after researchers examined hundreds of hours of unused documentary film footage. [3] [4]

Systematics

Chaetodon mertensii was first formally described in 1831 by the French anatomist George’s Cuvier (1769-1832). [5] The specific name honours the German naturalist and explorer Karl Heinrich Mertens (1796-1830) who showed Cuvier an illustration of this fish. [6]

Chaetodon mertensii is one of the "crowned" butterflyfishes. These form a group of largely allopatric species sharing the overall color pattern of dark forward-pointing chevrons on silvery hues, a (usually) black-and-white crown spot and yellow to red hindparts to a stunning degree; they differ in the exact combination of hues and some small pattern details. Other members of this lineage are the closely related Eritrean (C. paucifasciatus) and Seychelles butterflyfishes (C. madagaskariensis), and the more distant pearlscale butterflyfish (C. xanthurus). [7] [8]

Seychelles butterflyfish (C. madagaskariensis). C. mertensii looks almost identical, save for yellower hindparts and a continuous head band. Bep chaetodon madagaskariensis.jpg
Seychelles butterflyfish (C. madagaskariensis). C. mertensii looks almost identical, save for yellower hindparts and a continuous head band.

The "crowned" Chaetodon are a clearly recognizable clade, but their further relationships are otherwise less clear. They were often placed in the subgenus Exornator, or considered a distinct subgenus Rhombochaetodon with the atoll butterflyfish as type species. According to various DNA sequence studies, some older and more singular lineages. These include species such as the Asian butterflyfish ( C. argentatus ), the blue-striped butterflyfish ( C. fremblii ) and Burgess' butterflyfish ( C. burgessi ). C. burgessi is in fact so peculiar that it was placed in a monotypic subgenus Roaops. But recognition of this would probably result in several other small or monotypic subgenera becoming justified, and the older Rhombochaetodon would be the more conveniently apply to the entire radiation. [7] [8]

But the expanded group is of unclear relationships to species like the speckled butterflyfish (C. citrinellus) and the four-spotted butterflyfish (C. quadrimaculatus). These might be members of the subgenus Exornator the lineages around the spot-banded butterflyfish (C. punctatofasciatus) and C. citrinellus certainly looks somewhat similar to these. Yet phylogenetically, their position towards Rhombochaetodon is unresolved, and ultimately it might be better to merge both Rhombochaetodon and Roaops in Exornator. If the genus Chaetodon is split up, Exornator might become a subgenus of Lepidochaetodon or a separate genus. [7] [8]

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">Reef butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

The reef butterflyfish. also known as the least butterflyfish, Atlantic butterflyfish, butterbun or school mistress, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish of the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.

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

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".

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

The four-spotted butterflyfish or fourspot butterflyfish is a species of butterflyfish found in the Pacific Ocean from the Ryukyus, Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands and Taiwan to the Hawaiian, Marquesan, and Pitcairn islands, south to the Samoan and Austral Islands and the Marianas and Marshall Islands in Micronesia.

<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">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.

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

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.

<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">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.

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

The Seychelles butterflyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indian Ocean from eastern Africa east to Cocos-Keeling Islands and Christmas Island, north to Sri Lanka. The Seychelles butterflyfish is found in areas of rich coral growth on seaward reefs, at 10–40 m depth.

<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 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.

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

Chaetodon rainfordi, Rainfords's butterflyfish, also known as the gold-barred butterflyfish or the Northern butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish, belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean where it is associated with coral reefs.

References

  1. Allen, G.R.; Myers, R.F. (2010). "Chaetodon mertensii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010: e.T165615A6068709. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165615A6068709.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Chaetodon mertensi" in FishBase . December 2019 version.
  3. Liggins, Libby; Sweatman, Jenny Ann; Trnski, Thomas; Duffy, Clinton A. J.; Eddy, Tyler D.; Aguirre, J. David (2020). "Natural history footage provides new reef fish biodiversity information for a pristine but rarely visited archipelago". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 1–7. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-60136-w . PMC   7035361 . PMID   32081990.
  4. Hancock, Farah (16 March 2020). "New species accidentally discovered on film". Newsroom. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  5. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Chaetodon". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  6. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (21 July 2020). "Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 1): Families LOBOTIDAE, POMACANTHIDAE, DREPANEIDAE and CHAETODONTIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 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. PMID   17625921.
  8. 1 2 3 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 2008-09-01.