Indian vagabond butterflyfish

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Indian vagabond butterflyfish
Bep chaetodon decussatus.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Chaetodontidae
Genus: Chaetodon
Subgenus: Chaetodon (Rabdophorus)
Species:
C. decussatus
Binomial name
Chaetodon decussatus
G. Cuvier, 1829
Synonyms [2]
  • Chaetodon vagabundus jordani Ahl, 1923

The Indian vagabond butterflyfish (Chaetodon decussatus), 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. [2]

The Indian vagabond butterflyfish has a silvery-white body marked with diagonal grey lines and with a broad black vertical band running through the eyes. The posterior lower part of the body is largely black. There are yellow markings on the tail and anal fins. [3] Growing to a maximum of 20 cm (nearly 8 in) long, it is found on rich coral reefs and also on rubble and rocky areas. The monogamous adults swim in pairs and may be territorial and aggressive to other Chaetodon ; juveniles are solitary. The Indian vagabond butterflyfish feeds largely on algae and coral polyps. They are oviparous. [2]

Illustration in Patrick Russell's 1803 book, given the local name of "painah" Chaetodon decussatus 1803.png
Illustration in Patrick Russell's 1803 book, given the local name of "painah"

The Indian vagabond butterflyfish was first formally described in 1829 by the French anatomist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832), the type locality was given as “India”. [4] It belongs to the large subgenus Rabdophorus which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus. In this group, it almost certainly is a rather close relative of the threadfin butterflyfish (C. auriga) and the vagabond butterflyfish (C. vagabundus). C. decussatus might be closer to the threadfin butterflyfish than to the common Vagabond Butterflyfish; as C. vagabundus has yielded abnormal DNA sequence data this is hard to say however. The C. auriga species group shares the characteristic pattern of two areas of ascending and descending oblique lines; species differ conspicuously in hindpart coloration. [5] [6]

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">Threadfin butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

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

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

The ornate butterflyfish, or clown butterfyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish in the family Chaetodontidae.

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

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.

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

The vagabond butterflyfish, also known as the crisscross 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">Saddle butterflyfish</span> Species of fish

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.

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

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.

<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">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">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">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 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.

<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.

References

  1. Myers, R.F.; Pratchett, M. (2010). "Chaetodon decussatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010: e.T165648A6080038. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165648A6080038.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Chaetodon decussatus" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. "Chaetodon decussatus". Saltcorner. Bob Goemans. 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  4. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Chaetodon". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  5. 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.
  6. 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 2008-09-02.