The chevron butterflyfish (''Chaetodon trifascialis''), also known as chevroned butterflyfish, triangulate butterflyfish or V-lined butterflyfish, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 h ...

, 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 Atla ...

belonging to the

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

Chaetodontidae. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. Chevron butterflyfish should not be confused with

melon butterflyfish The melon butterflyfish (''Chaetodon trifasciatus'') 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 ...

(''Chaetodon trifasciatus''), three-striped butterflyfish (''Chaetodon tricinctus''), or

three-banded butterflyfish The three-banded butterflyfish (''Chaetodon robustus'') is a species of fish in the family Chaetodontidae. It inhabits the eastern-central Atlantic Ocean, in warm tropical waters from Mauritania down to Cape Verde and the Gulf of Guinea Th ...

(''Chaetodon robustus'').

Description

The chevron butterflyfish has an relatively elongate pale body marked with dark vertical

chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...

markings. It has a black tail with yellow posterior margin. There is a black band with pale edges which runs through the eye. The juveniles have a black vertical band which runs from the rear of the

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 c ...

, over the rear of the body to the rear of the anal fins and they have a yellow tail base and

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. The dorsal fin contains 13-15 spines and 14-16 soft rays while the anal fin has 3-5 spines an 13-15 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 .

Distribution

The Chevron butterflyfish has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. It is found in the western Indian Ocean along the coast of East Africa from the Egypt south to South Africa and across the Indian Ocean including the Indian Ocean islands and into the Pacific Ocean to the Line Islands, Johnston Atoll and the

Howland and Baker Islands Howland Island and Baker Island are two uninhabited U.S. atolls in the Equatorial Pacific that are located close to one another. Both islands are wildlife refuges, the larger of which is Howland Island. They are both part of the larger politi ...

in the central-west Pacific. It extends north to southern Japan and south to

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...

and

Rapa Iti Rapa, also called Rapa Iti, or "Little Rapa", to distinguish it from Easter Island, whose Polynesian name is Rapa Nui, is the largest and only inhabited island of the Bass Islands in French Polynesia. An older name for the island is Oparo. The ...

. In Australia this species can be found from the

Houtman Abrolhos The Houtman Abrolhos (often called the Abrolhos Islands) is a chain of 122 islands and associated coral reefs, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia, about west of Geraldton, Western Australia. It is the southernmost true coral ...

to Beagle Reef, as well as the Rowley Shoals and Scott Reef in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, it is then found in the northern

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

off

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, on some reefs in the Coral Sea, as far south as Arrawarra Headland near Coffs Harbour in New South Wales. It can also be found around the Australian Indian Ocean territories of

Cocos (Keeling) Islands ) , anthem = "''Advance Australia Fair''" , song_type = , song = , image_map = Australia on the globe (Cocos (Keeling) Islands special) (Southeast Asia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands , map_caption = ...

and Christmas Islands.

Habitat and biology

The chevron butterflyfish is a territorial species which occurs in semi-protected seaward and shallow

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

s, closely associated with tabular and staghorn ('' Acropora'')

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

s, the polyps and mucus of which they eat. They occur at depths ranging from 2–30 m. Adults are either seen to swim alone or (particularly in the breeding season) in pairs, while juveniles are secretive among coral branches. They are oviparous.

Systematics

The chevron butterflyfish was first formally described in 1825 by the French naturalists Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard with the type locality given as Guam. This species has the unusual features of age-dependent colour and an elongated outline, and this has led to this species being placed in a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

subgenus ''Megaprotodon''. Its closest living relatives seem to be the species of the subgenera ''Discochaetodon'' (e.g. eightband butterflyfish, ''C. octofasciatus'') and ''Tetrachaetodon'' (e.g.

mirror butterflyfish The mirror butterflyfish or oval-spot butterflyfish (''Chaetodon speculum'') is a species of butterflyfish (family Chaetodontidae). It is found in the Indo-Pacific region from Indonesia to Japan and south to the Great Barrier Reef and Papua New G ...

, ''C. speculum''). These, and perhaps other subgenera, would use ''Megaprotodon'' as genus name if '' Chaetodon'' is split up.

References

External links

* chevron butterflyfish Near threatened biota of Africa Near threatened biota of Asia Near threatened biota of Oceania Vulnerable fish chevron butterflyfish {{Chaetodontidae-stub