''Chaetodon hoefleri'', the four-banded butterflyfish, is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

, a

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 Atlant ...

from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Chaetodontidae. It is native to the tropical eastern

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and has been recorded in the Mediterranean.

Description

''Chaetodon hoefleri'' has an rounded body shape with a short snout and rounded median fins. The head and body are largely yellowish in colour with copper tints. The body is marked with four vertical bars, the first bar is blackish and starts to the front of the first

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 conv ...

spine runs across the eye to the lower part of the back of the head. The second is dark brown in colour and starts between the third to fifth dorsal fin spines across the rear angle of the bill cover and base of the

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s to the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s. The third bar is darker brown and runs from the last dorsal fin spines down towards the base of the anal fin at a slightly oblique angle, with an obvious black spot in its uppermost part. The fourth bar is darker than the others and could be described as blackish runs over the caudal peduncle. A black stripe runs between the eyes to the end of the short snout. The remainder of the upper part of head and the snout is orang. Every scale on the body has an orange horizontal stripe. The median fin spines and rays and the pelvic fin rays are yellowish to orange in colour. The soft rayed parts of the dorsal and anal fins usually have a white stripe on the inside of this. The pectoral fins are hyaline as is the

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

but this an orange crescent shaped crossbar in its centre. The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 21-24 soft rays while the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

has 3 spines and 16-17 soft rays. This species attains a maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of , although is more common.

Distribution

''Chaetodon hoefleri'' occurs in the tropical eastern Atlantic Ocean from Cap Blanc and Levrier Bay in Mauritania) south as far as the mouth of the Congo. It is also occurs around the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. There have been a number of records in the western

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

Habitat and biology

''Chaetodon hoefleri'' is a coastal species which has a preference for hard or rocky substrates. However, it has also been caught by trawlers over sand or mud substrates. It is a solitary fish, although it is often encountered in pairs as adults, although juveniles may be more gregarious when. They feed on

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

invertebrates. This is an

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

species which forms pairs when breeding. It is found at depths of .

Taxonomy and etymology

''Chaetodon hoefleri'' was first formally described in 1881 by the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

Franz Steindachner (1834-1913) with its type locality given as

Gorée (; "Gorée Island"; Wolof: Beer Dun) is one of the 19 (i.e. districts) of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is an island located at sea from the main harbour of Dakar (), famous as a destination for people interested in the Atlantic slave trade ...

in Senegal. The specific name honours the Steindachner's “dear friend” W. Höfler, who provided the type and who was supplied him with fish specimens from Africa.

Utilisation

''Chaetodon hoefleri'' is rare in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1054462 four-banded butterflyfish Fish of the East Atlantic Marine fauna of West Africa four-banded butterflyfish