Threadfin Butterflyfish
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The threadfin butterflyfish (''Chaetodon auriga'') 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 ...
belonging to 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 has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.


Distribution

''Chaetodon auriga'' is found in the
Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
region, from the
Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
and eastern
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
(south to Mossel Bay,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
) to the Hawaiian, Marquesas and Ducie islands, 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 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, at depths of . A single specimen was reported recently (2015) 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 ...
off Italy, a likely result of aquarium release.


Description

''Chaetodon auriga'' is up to long. Its body is white with "chevron" markings on the side. The rear edge of the dorsal fin has a prominent black spot with a trailing filament behind it, and a black vertical band runs through the eye. The fish also has a belly patch of descending oblique dark lines and bright yellow fins. Two
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
are sometimes recognised: ''Chaetodon auriga auriga'' occurs in the Red Sea and lacks the dorsal eyespot; ''Chaetodon auriga setifer'' is the spotted population occurring outside the Red Sea.


Taxonomy

It belongs to the large
subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
''
Rabdophorus ''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 ...
'' which might warrant recognition as a distinct
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 ...
. Within this group, it is almost certainly a rather close relative of the
vagabond butterflyfish The vagabond butterflyfish (''Chaetodon vagabundus''), also known as the crisscross butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region. Descript ...
(''C. vagabundus'') and the
Indian vagabond butterflyfish The Indian vagabond butterflyfish (''Chaetodon decussatus''), also known as the blackened butterflyfish or black-finned vagabond, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the ...
(''C. decussatus''). The ''C. auriga'' species group shares the characteristic pattern of two areas of ascending and descending oblique lines, but they differ conspicuously in hindpart coloration.


References


External links

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q580920
threadfin butterflyfish The threadfin butterflyfish (''Chaetodon auriga'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family (biology), family Chaetodontidae. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. Distribution ''Chaetodon auriga'' is found in the Indo-P ...
Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish of the Red Sea Fish of Hawaii
threadfin butterflyfish The threadfin butterflyfish (''Chaetodon auriga'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family (biology), family Chaetodontidae. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. Distribution ''Chaetodon auriga'' is found in the Indo-P ...
Taxa named by Peter Forsskål