Chaetodon nigropunctatus
| Chaetodon nigropunctatus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Juvenile | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Chaetodontidae |
| Genus: | Chaetodon |
| Subgenus: | Chaetodon (Rabdophorus) |
| Species: | C. nigropunctatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Chaetodon nigropunctatus Sauvage, 1880
| |
| Synonyms[3] | |
| |
Chaetodon nigropunctatus, the black-spotted butterflyfish, is a species off marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish, belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the north western Indian Ocean.
Description[edit]
Chaetodon nigropunctatus has a whitish mouth set in a grey face, the colour of the body is greyish white and it is marked with many longitudinal rows of dark grey spots. The tail is black with a white margin.[4] The dorsal fin has 13 spines and 21-23 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 18-20 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of 14 centimetres (5.5 in).[3]
Distribution[edit]
Chaetodon nigropunctatus is found in the northwestern Indian Ocean. It occurs in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea coast of the Arabian Peninsula.[1]
Habitat and biology[edit]
Chaetodon nigropunctatus occurs at depths between 1 and 40 metres (3.3 and 131.2 ft),[1] inhabiting coral reefs where they occur in pairs. They are thought to feed mainly on coral polyps.[3] it occurs over reefs, either of coral or rock, and sometime in Sandy lagoon areas.[1]
Systematics[edit]
Chaetodon nigropunctatus was first formally described in 1880 by the French paleontologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist Henri Émile Sauvage (1842-1917) with the type locality was given as Oman.[5] It belongs to the large subgenus Rabdophorus which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus.[6]
Utilsation[edit]
Chaetodon nigropunctatus is rare in the aquarium trade.[1] However, it is a difficult species to keep in captivity due to its specialised diet of live coral polyps.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Allen, G.R.; Myers, R.F. (2010). "Chaetodon nigropunctatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T165696A6094656. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165696A6094656.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ Feary, D.; Motomura, H.; Matsuura, K. (2015). "Chaetodon nigropunctatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T165696A57088171. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Chaetodon nigropunctatus" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
- ^ a b "Chaetodon nigropunctatus". Saltcorner. Bob Goemans. 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Chaetodon". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ Fessler, Jennifer L.; Westneat, Mark W (2007). "Molecular phylogenetics of the butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae): Taxonomy and biogeography of a global coral reef fish family". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45 (1): 50–68. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.05.018. PMID 17625921.