The ornate butterflyfish (''Chaetodon ornatissimus''), or clown 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 hor ...

, a butterflyfish in 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. The ornate butterflyfish is a close relative of the

mailed butterflyfish The mailed butterflyfish (''Chaetodon reticulatus''), also known as the reticulated butterflyfish or black butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae, This species is found on re ...

(''C. reticulatus'') and the

scrawled butterflyfish The scrawled butterflyfish (''Chaetodon meyeri''), 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 P ...

(''C. meyeri'').Fessler, Jennifer L., and Mark W. Westneat. "Molecular phylogenetics of the butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae): taxonomy and biogeography of a global coral reef fish family." ''Molecular phylogenetics and evolution'' 45.1 (2007): 50-68. Together they make up the subgenus called “Citharoedus”, but as this name had already been used for the mollusk genus when it was given to the fish, it is not valid. They are probably quite close to the subgenus Corallochaetodon, which contains the

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 ...

(''C. trifasciatus''). Like these, they might be separated into Megaprotodon if the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 migh ...

'' is split up.

Morphology

''Chaetodon ornatissimus'' is most easily identified by its color pattern, which helps protect it from predators. Ornate butterflyfish have white bodies with orange to orange-brown oblique bands. They also have two yellow-edged black bars on their head: one runs across the eyes and the other is on the snout, and the tail has two black bars. The size of the ornate butterflyfish ranges from 13–18 cm total length (mean +/- SD = 16.2 +/- 1.4 cm) and pair members are nearly always indistinguishable based on size.Adam, T. C. (2010). Competition encourages cooperation: client fish receive higher-quality service when cleaner fish compete. ''Animal Behaviour'', ''79''(6), 1183-1189.

Behavior

Ornate butterflyfish adults are predominately found in pairs that occupy exclusive territories including Clearwater

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'') a ...

s and seaward reefs rich in coral growth (size range ~100-1400m2). On the other hand, juvenile ''Chaetodon ornatissimus'' live in solitary, tend to be shy, and hide in the arms of branching corals for protection. Once juveniles reach breeding age, they form pairs. It is uncommon to find adult ''Chaetodon ornatissimus'' without a mate. Pairs also establish a "home range" where they are likely always to be found.

Reproduction

Ornate butterflyfish are monogamous and pair-forming coral reef fish. Many ornate butterflyfish mate for life. Spawning activity occurs at different times depending on each biome. Tropical spawning peaks in winter and early spring, while temperate spawning occurs in midsummer. Spawning occurs at dusk and eggs are released and fertilized in the water column.

Habitat and range

The ornate butterflyfish is widespread throughout the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

waters of the Indo-Pacific area, ranging from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, the

Marquesas The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in t ...

, the

Pitcairn Islands The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four isl ...

, North to Southern

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, South to Lord Howe, and Rapa in the Austral Islands. Over three-quarters of the world's fish species inhabit this region. The environment ''C. ornatissimus'' lives in is marine, inshore, tropical (30°N - 30°S, 77°E - 124°W) and reef associated.Myers, R. F. (1991). ''Micronesian reef fishes''. Barrigada, Guam: Coral Graphics. They tend to live at a depth range between 1–36 meters.

Habitat threats

Ornate butterflyfish like other coral reef organisms, have many natural and anthropogenic disruptions which play a major role in loss of habitat of. Sessile, benthic communities on tropical coral reefs experience natural disruptions including tropical storms, unseasonal temperature extremes and infestations of crown-of-thorn sea stars (''Acanthaster planci'').Pratchett, M. S., Wilson, S. K., & Baird, A. H. (2006). Declines in the abundance of Chaetodon butterflyfishes following extensive coral depletion. ''Journal of fish Biology'', ''69''(5), 1269-1280. These events are becoming more frequent, which makes anthropogenic influences more chronic. Anthropogenic disturbances include overfishing, pollution and coastal development, all of which cause depletion in corals. Over 30 percent of the coral reef communities in the world have already been degraded; however, by 2030 more than 60 percent of coral reef communities will have been lost. These changes in the structure of benthic coral reef habitats have adverse effects on coral reef fish, specifically butterflyfish. Several studies have documented the decline of butterflyfish, and localized extinctions, following coral depletion. A study by Pratchett et al., revealed that declines in abundance of ''Chaetodon'' butterflyfish were almost certainly related to coral depletion. Declines in abundances of butterflyfish were due to starvation. Another adverse anthropogenic effect which alters habitat community composition is the shift from coral-dominated to seaweed-dominated benthic communities. Coral reef communities provide shelter and food resources for Butterflyfish. However, the presence of seaweed has a substantial impact on butterflyfish, as they actively avoid corals in contact with seaweed.
Anthropogenic impacts of overfishing of herbivorous fish and increase of eutrophication create favorable conditions for seaweed growth.Brooker, R. M. ''et al.'' Cryptic effects of habitat declines: coral-associated fishes avoid coral-seaweed interactions due to visual and chemical cues. ''Sci. Rep.'' 6, 18842; (2016). Increase in seaweed-dominated benthic communities limits expansion of coral colonies and availability of surfaces for larval settlement and development.

Diet and feeding

Ornate butterflyfish feed exclusively on coral polyp tissue and small organisms. Ornate butterflyfish feed on ten different coral species, which is the broadest range of corals when compared with other coral-eating butterflyfish species.Collinske, G. (2017, August 2). Awesome Fish Spotlight: The Ornate Butterflyfish: Reef Builders: The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog. Retrieved from https://reefbuilders.com/2017/08/02/awesome-fish-spotlight-the-ornate-butterflyfish/ Other obligate corallivores (coral-eating) butterflyfish species include: ''

Chaetodon austriacus The blacktail butterflyfish (''Chaetodon austriacus''), also known as black-tailed butterflyfish or exquisite butterflyfish, is a species marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is native to the western ...

'', '' C. baronessa'', ''C. bennetti'', '' C. larvatus'', '' C. lunulatus'', ''C. meyeri'', '' C. octofasiatus'', '' C. rainfordi,'' and '' C. trifasicatus''''.'' Butterflyfish are obligate corallivores, which means the majority of their diet must be made up of live coral polyp - coral mucous rather than coral tissue. Butterflyfish have very fine hair-like teeth that enable them to pick out small organisms inaccessible to most other fish for eating. They thrive mainly on a diet of coral polyps, tentacles of

feather dusters Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier e ...

and Christmas-tree worms. All of those food sources tend to crawl back into their shells; therefore, butterflyfish need to be able to hover motionless while picking at the coral, and to dart swiftly over short distances to get the organisms that retreat into hiding before they retract. Ornate Butterflyfish are able to do this by using their pectoral fins as oars to brake, sprint, turn and reverse.

Economic importance

Ornate butterflyfish are one of the most popular tropical fishes with divers and aquarists. However, ornate butterflyfish are nearly impossible to keep successfully in captivity, because they are obligate corallivores.

Footnotes

References

* Adam, T. C. (2010). Competition encourages cooperation: client fish receive higher-quality service when cleaner fish compete. ''Animal Behaviour'', ''79''(6), 1183–1189. *Collinske, G. (2017, August 2). Awesome Fish Spotlight: The Ornate Butterflyfish: Reef Builders: The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog. Retrieved from https://reefbuilders.com/2017/08/02/awesome-fish-spotlight-the-ornate-butterflyfish/ *Fessler, Jennifer L., and Mark W. Westneat. "Molecular phylogenetics of the butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae): taxonomy and biogeography of a global coral reef fish family." ''Molecular phylogenetics and evolution'' 45.1 (2007): 50–68. *Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2019. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, (2019) *Hernández, Sebastián, et al. "First Records of Striped Boarfish Evistias acutirostris and Ornate Butterflyfish Chaetodon ornatissimus from Easter Island1." ''Pacific Science'' 69.4 (2015): 525–529. *Myers, R. F. (1991). ''Micronesian reef fishes''. Barrigada, Guam: Coral Graphics. * (2007): Molecular phylogeny of ''Chaetodon'' (Teleostei: Chaetodontidae) in the Indo-West Pacific: evolution in geminate species pairs and species groups. ''Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement'' 14: 77–86
PDF fulltext
*Weinheimer, Monica; Jonna, R. Jamil. "Chaetodontidae (Butterflyfishes)". ''Animal Diversity Web''. Retrieved 2020-04-13. *Pratchett, M. S., Wilson, S. K., & Baird, A. H. (2006). Declines in the abundance of Chaetodon butterflyfish following extensive coral depletion. ''Journal of fish Biology'', 69(5), 1269–1280. *Brooker, R. M. et al. Cryptic effects of habitat declines: coral-associated fishes avoid coral-seaward interactions due to visual and chemical cues. Sci. Rep. 6, 18842; doin: 10.1038/srep18842 (2016).

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q958450 Chaetodon Fish of Hawaii Fish described in 1831 Taxa named by Georges Cuvier