Chaetodon larvatus

Chaetodon larvatus, commonly known as the hooded butterflyfish or orangeface butterflyfish (and with many other common names), is a species of butterflyfish (family Chaetodontidae). It is found in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,[1][2][3] and as of 2011 has been recorded as a Lessepsian migrant in the southeast Mediterranean.[4]

Not to be confused with the Triangle Butterflyfish (C. triangulum) or the Bluecheek Butterflyfish (C. semilarvatus).

Hooded butterflyfish

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Perciformes
Family:
Chaetodontidae
Genus:
Chaetodon (but see text)
Subgenus:
Gonochaetodon
Species:
C. larvatus
Binomial name
Chaetodon larvatus
G. Cuvier, 1829

Description

It grows to a maximum size of 12 cm (4.7 in) total length.[3] The body is powder blue in colour with a pattern of narrow, white chevron-shaped bars. The head and front of the body are coloured intense red-orange. The back of the dorsal fin and the caudal fin are black.

Ecology and behaviour

The hooded butterflyfish is found in seaward and lagoon coral reefs. They usually swim around in pairs and are territorial. Normally this species feeds exclusively on the polyps of the tubular Acropora corals.[5] However, given that it has been observed in the Mediterranean, where coral growth is limited, it may be able to adapt to a different diet.[4]

Phylogeny

The hooded butterflyfish is a far western sister species of the triangle butterflyfish (C. triangulum), which lives in the Indian Ocean, and C. baronessa, which inhabits the Indo-Pacific. Together these species form the subgenus Gonochaetodon. If Chaetodon is split up as some researchers propose, this group might go into Megaprotodon with other high-backed and square-bodied species, but its exact relationships are still not well known.[6][7]

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References
  1. Pyle, R.; Craig, M.T.; Pratchett, M. (2010). "Chaetodon larvatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T165609A6067212. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165609A6067212.en.
  2. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke; R. van der Laan, eds. (1 December 2016). "Catalog of Fishes". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  3. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2016). "Chaetodon larvatus" in FishBase. October 2016 version.
  4. Salameh, Pierre; Sonin, Oren; Edelist, Dor & Golani, Daniel (2011). "First record of the Red Sea orangeface butterflyfish Chaetodon larvatus (Cuvier, 1831) in the Mediterranean". Aquatic Invasions. 6 (Supplement 1): S53–S56. doi:10.3391/AI.2011.6.S1.012.
  5. Allen, G. R. (1985): Butterfly and Angelfishes of the World. Vol. 2. 3rd ed. Mergus, Melle. p. 193
  6. 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.
  7. 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 2016-12-08.
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