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Butterflyfish
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 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''. 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 Butterflyfish mostly range from in length. The largest species, the lined butterflyfish and the saddle butterflyfish, ''C. ephippium'', grow to . The common name references the brightly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaetodon
''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. Species There are currently 87 recognized species in this genus: ''Chaetodon sensu stricto'' * '' Chaetodon capistratus'' Linnaeus, 1758 (Foureye butterflyfish) * '' Chaetodon ocellatus'' Bloch, 1787 (Spotfin butterflyfish) * '' Chaetodon striatus'' Linnaeus, 1758 (Banded butterflyfish) ''C. robustus'' group * '' Chaetodon hoefleri'' Steindachner, 1881 (Four-banded butterflyfish) * ''Chaetodon robustus'' Günther, 1860 (Three-banded butterflyfish) ''Lepidochaetodon'' group Image:Bep chaetodon punctatofasciatus.jpg, Spotband butterflyfish''Chaetodon (Exornator) punctatofasciatus'' Image:Chaetodon guttatissimus_01.jpg, Peppered butterflyfish''Chaetodon (Exornator) guttatissimus'' Image:8070 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lined Butterflyfish
The lined butterflyfish (''Chaetodon lineolatus'') 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. Taxonomy It belongs to the large subgenus ''Rabdophorus'' which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus. In this group, it seems to be member of a lineage also containing species such as the spot-naped butterflyfish (''C. oxycephalus''), or the peculiar black-wedged butterflyfish (''C. falcula'') and Pacific double-saddle butterflyfish or "false falcula" (''C. ulietensis''). These four differ wildly in shape, but all have bluish vertical lines on a white body with yellow behind, and black on back and caudal peduncle in addition to the typical eyestripe of ''Chaetodon''. The blue-cheeked butterflyfish (''C. semilarvatus'') seems to be a far more basal lineage of ''Rabdophorus'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corallivore
A corallivore is an animal that feeds on coral. Corallivores are an important group of reef organism because they can influence coral abundance, distribution, and community structure. Corallivores feed on coral using a variety of unique adaptations and strategies. Animals known to be corallivores include certain mollusks, annelids, fish, crustaceans, flatworms and echinoderms. The first recorded evidence of corallivory was presented by Charles Darwin in 1842 during his The Voyage of the Beagle, voyage on HMS ''Beagle'' in which he found coral in the stomach of two ''Scarus'' parrotfish. History While visiting the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in 1842, Charles Darwin was told by an Englishman living on the islands that there were large shoals of parrotfish that subsisted entirely on coral. Darwin dissected several parrotfish and found pieces of coral and finely ground calcareous material in their stomach. This led Darwin to correctly theorize that some species of parrotfish consume cora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saddle Butterflyfish
The saddle butterflyfish (''Chaetodon ephippium'') 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. It is a large butterflyfish, at up to 30 cm (nearly 12 in) long together with the Lined Butterflyfish (''C. lineolatus'') the giant among its genus. In shape it resembles certain angelfishes more than most of its relatives. The overall color is yellowish grey, with a large black spot bordered below by a broad white band on the back and wavy blue lines on the lower sides. The throat and the outline of the hind parts is bright yellow. Adults have a filament extending posteriorly from the upper part of the soft portion of the dorsal fin. The Saddle Butterflyfish is found at depths between 0 and 30 m in coral reef ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moorish Idol
The Moorish idol (''Zanclus cornutus'') is a marine fish species, the sole extant representative of the family Zanclidae (from the Greek ζαγκίος, ''zagkios'', "oblique") in order Acanthuriformes. A common inhabitant of tropical to subtropical reefs and lagoons, the Moorish idol is notable for its wide distribution throughout the Indo-Pacific. A number of butterflyfishes (genus ''Heniochus'') closely resemble the Moorish idol. It is closely related to, if not a direct descendant of, the extinct ''Eozanclus brevirostris'', from the Middle Eocene of Monte Bolca. The Moorish idol got its name from the "Moors" of Africa, who purportedly believed the fish to be a bringer of happiness. Moorish idols are also a coveted aquarium fish but, despite their abundance and wide array of habitats, they are notoriously finicky and hard to adjust to captivity. Their omnivorous diet can be extremely difficult to replicate in aquaria, as the vegetation which they live on is normally exter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eyespot (mimicry)
An eyespot (sometimes ocellus) is an eye-like marking. They are found in butterflies, reptiles, cats, birds and fish. Eyespots could be explained in at least three different ways. They may be a form of mimicry in which a spot on the body of an animal resembles an eye of a different animal, to deceive potential predator or prey species. They may be a form of self-mimicry, to draw a predator's attention away from the prey's most vulnerable body parts. Or they may serve to make the prey appear inedible or dangerous. Eyespot markings may play a role in intraspecies communication or courtship; the best-known example is probably the eyespots on a peacock's display feathers. The pattern-forming biological process (morphogenesis) of eyespots in a wide variety of animals is controlled by a small number of genes active in embryonic development, including the genes called Engrailed, Distal-less, Hedgehog, Antennapedia, and the Notch signaling pathway. Artificial eyespots have been sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pomacanthidae
Marine angelfish are perciform fish of the family Pomacanthidae. They are found on shallow reefs in the tropical Atlantic, Indian, and mostly western Pacific Oceans. The family contains seven genera and about 86 species. They should not be confused with the freshwater angelfish, tropical cichlids of the Amazon Basin. Description With their bright colours and deep, laterally compressed bodies, marine angelfishes are some of the more conspicuous residents of the reef. They most closely resemble the butterflyfishes, a related family of similarly showy reef fish. Marine angelfish are distinguished from butterflyfish by the presence of strong preopercle spines (part of the gill covers) in the former. This feature also explains the family name Pomacanthidae; from the Greek πομα, ''poma'' meaning "cover" and ακάνθα, ''akantha'' meaning "thorn". Many species of marine angelfishes have streamer-like extensions of the soft dorsal and anal fins. The fish have small mouths, relat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heniochus
''Heniochus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, butterflyfishes from the family Chaetodontidae. They are native to the Indo-Pacific. Though very similar in appearance to the Moorish idol ''(Zanclus cornutus)'', the members of this genus are not closely related to it. Characteristics ''Heniochus'' species are distinguished within the Chaetodontidae by having the fourth spine in the dorsal fin elongated, or even forming a filament. The supraorbital crests in adults have spines or horn-like protuberances. They normally have a hump, or at least a robust bony growth on the nape. Etymology ''Heniochus'' is Greek for a “carriage driver” or “coachman” and is a reference to the long, filamentous 4th dorsal spine of these fish, resembling the whip of a coachman. Species There are currently eight recognized species in this genus: * '' Heniochus acuminatus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) (Pennant coralfish) * ''Heniochus chrysostomus'' G. Cuvier, 1831 (Threeband pennantfish) * '' Henioch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schooling Bannerfish
The schooling bannerfish (''Heniochus diphreutes''), also known as the false moorish idol, is a marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish from the family Chaetodontidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific area. Description The schooling bannerfish is a small fish that can reach a maximum length of 18–21 cm.Lieske & Myers,''Coral reef fishes'',Princeton University Press, 2009, Kuiter, R.H. and T. Tonozuka, 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 2. Fusiliers - Dragonets, Caesionidae - Callionymidae. Zoonetics, Australia. 304-622 p. Its body is compressed laterally, and the first rays of its dorsal fin stretch in a long white filament. Its background color is white with two large black diagonal bands. Beyond the second black stripe, the dorsal, caudal fins and pectoral fins are yellow. The head is white, the eyes are black and linked together by a black to gray band. The short snout, spotted with black to gray, has a small terminal, extensible mouth. Distributio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorsal Fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through convergent evolution they have independently evolved external superficial fish-like body plans adapted to their marine environments, including most numerously fish, but also mammals such as cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), and even extinct ancient marine reptiles such as various known species of ichthyosaurs. Most species have only one dorsal fin, but some have two or three. Wildlife biologists often use the distinctive nicks and wear patterns which develop on the dorsal fins of large cetaceans to identify individuals in the field. The bony or cartilaginous bones that support the base of the dorsal fin in fish are called ''pterygiophores''. Functions The main purpose of the dorsal fin is to stabilize the animal against rollin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatomical Terms Of Location
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provides a definition of what is at the front ("anterior"), behind ("posterior") and so on. As part of defining and describing terms, the body is described through the use of anatomical planes and anatomical axes. The meaning of terms that are used can change depending on whether an organism is bipedal or quadrupedal. Additionally, for some animals such as invertebrates, some terms may not have any meaning at all; for example, an animal that is radially symmetrical will have no anterior surface, but can still have a description that a part is close to the middle ("proximal") or further from the middle ("distal"). International organisations have determined vocabularies that are often used as standard vocabularies for subdisciplines of anatom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the large superfamily (zoology), superfamily Papilionoidea, which contains at least one former group, the skippers (formerly the superfamily "Hesperioidea"), and the most recent analyses suggest it also contains the moth-butterflies (formerly the superfamily "Hedyloidea"). Butterfly fossils date to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago. Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle, as like most insects they undergo Holometabolism, complete metamorphosis. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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