| Heniochus varius | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Acanthuriformes |
| Family: | Chaetodontidae |
| Genus: | Heniochus |
| Species: | H. varius |
| Binomial name | |
| Heniochus varius (Cuvier, 1829) | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Heniochus varius, the horned bannerfish or humphead bannerfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae, native from the central Indo-Pacific area.
The horned bannerfish is a small-sized fish that can reach a maximum length of 19 centimetres (7.5 in). [3] It has the typical deep-bodied and highly compressed body, typical of butterflyfishes. [4]
The horned bannerfish is told apart from its congeners by the adults having a pair of obvious horns on the forehead, just above the eyes and a prominent bump on the forehead. [2] The predominant colour on the body is brown to blackish broken by a thin white band behind the head and a second running from the spiny part of the dorsal fin to the caudal peduncle. [5] The two white stripes create a triangle of the base colour on the body. [6] The dorsal fin has 11 spines and 22–25 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 17–18 soft rays. [2]
The horned bannerfish is widespread throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the central Indo-Pacific from Indonesia to Polynesia and from south Japan to New-Caledonia. [1] [3]
It inhabits areas rich in coral in shallow lagoons and external reef slopes from the surface to a depth of 30 meters. [7]
The horned bannerfish is a solitary fish but it can live in pairs or even in small groups. [8] Its diet is varied and consists of coral polyps and various benthic invertebrates. [3]
Heniochus varius was first formally described as Taurichthys varius in 1829 by the French anatomist Georges Cuvier (1769–1832) with the type locality given as Ambon Island in Indonesia. [9]
In some geographic areas, the horned bannerfish is occasionally harvested for the aquarium trade, however the species does not currently appear threatened is listed as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN. [1]
