Butterflyfishes

The taxonomy of various fish families is constantly undergoing updates. Nevertheless, the Butterflyfish taxon presented below is the latest as of August 2004. I want to personally thank those involved with this reclassification, i.e., Vincent Hargreaves Ph.D., and those assisting him such as John Randall, Frank Schneidewind, Peter Wirtz, and Hiroyuki Tanaka for their dedication to perfection, and for allowing this website (www.saltcorner.com) to be the "first in the world" to post it!

These fishes belong in the "Order Perciformes" and "Suborder Percoidei" as members of the "Family Chaetodontidae" (Butterflyfishes) which contains 13 genera and almost 130 species, both described and yet undescribed. And note the genus Heniochus is described as "Bannerfishes" elsewhere in this Fish Library.

This is a very large family, probably containing the most colorful fishes to be found in the wild. They are laterally compressed disc-shaped fishes and most don't get overly large, i.e., about six inches. Besides their size and coloration, they make good community fish. Unfortunately many require excellent water quality and are difficult to feed, as their diet consists mostly of live food such as coral polyps, crustaceans, and algae.

Most appear to do better near the higher level of their temperature range, and also seem to do better in salinity levels found in reef systems, i.e., 1.025, rather than what is found in most fish-only systems, which is usually below that of reef systems. If possible, it is better to attain them as juveniles where there is a greater chance they will adapt to available aquarium foods. C. auriga and C. kleinii are among the easiest to maintain.

Amphichaetodon

A. howensis Lord Howe Butterflyfish

A. melbae San Felix Butterflyfish
Chaetodon

Distribution is quite extensive as its found in both the west and central Pacific Ocean, Hawaii, southern Japan, and the northwest and east coast of Australia, along with areas in the Atlantic Ocean. It is probably the largest genus of marine fishes that interest hobbyists. Most of these very beautiful fishes are described here, making this the largest genus in my library. It should be noted that C. aya, C. obliquus, and C. guyanensis are no longer valid in this genus and have now moved to the genus Prognathodes. And, C. andamanensis and C. hemichrysus are no longer a valid species. And C. interruptus is also not a valid species, however, it should be regarded as a subspecies of C. unimaculatus, e.g., Chaetodon unimaculatus interruptus per Vincent Hargreaves, Jack Randall and Bill Eschmeyer. It should also be noted that C. andamanensis is an invalid species. However, it should be treated as a junior synonym of C. plebeius per Vincent Hargreaves. He states: "There are various 'intermediates' from the Maldives, Phuket and the eastern Indian Ocean that are well documented and prove that it is merely a geographical color variation." And that he, Frank Schneidewind, Jack Randall, and Bill Eschmeyer all agree on this matter.

C. adiergastos Panda / Philippine Butterflyfish

C. argentatus Asian / Black & White Butterflyfish / Black Pearl / Silver Butterflyfish

C. assarius Western Australian Butterflyfish

C. aureofasciatus Golden-striped / Golden Butterflyfish

C. auriga Threadfin / Golden / Diagonal Butterflyfish

C. auripes Oriental / Gold Butterflyfish

C. austriacus Exquisite / Blacktail Butterflyfish

C. baronessa Triangular Butterflyfish

C. bennetti Bennett's Butterflyfish

C. blackburni Blackburn's / Rayed / Brownburnie Butterflyfish

C. burgessi Burgess' Butterflyfish

C. capistratus Foureye / Mock-eye Butterflyfish

C. citrinellus Speckled Butterflyfish / Citron Coralfish

C. collare Pakistani / Red-Tail / Collare / Brown Butterflyfish

C. daedalma Wrought Iron Butterflyfish

C. declivis Marquesas Butterflyfish

C. decussatus Vagabond / Painted / Black-finned Butterflyfish

C. dialeucos Oman Butterflyfish

C. dolosus African Butterflyfish

C. ephippium Saddled Butterflyfish

C. falcula Saddleback / Double-saddle / Black-wedge Butterflyfish

C. fasciatus Red Sea Raccoon / Diagonal Butterflyfish

C. flavirostris Black / Yellow-Face Butterflyfish

C. flavocoronatus Yellow-Crowned Butterflyfish

C. fremblii Bluestripe / Bluelined Butterflyfish

C. gardineri Gardner's Butterflyfish

C. guentheri Gunther's Butterflyfish

C. guttatissimus Spotted Butterflyfish

C. hoefleri Four-Banded / Hoefler's Butterflyfish

C. humeralis Sea of Cortez Three-banded / East Pacific Butterflyfish

C. kleinii Sunburst / White-spotted / Klein's Butterflyfish

C. larvatus Orange-Face Butterflyfish

C. leucopleura Somali Butterflyfish

C. lineolatus Lined Butterflyfish

C. litus Easter Island Butterflyfish

C. lunula Raccoon / Moon / Red Striped Butterflyfish

C. lunulatus Redfin Butterflyfish

C. madagaskariensis Seychelles Butterflyfish

C. marleyi Doubledash / South African Butterflyfish

C. melannotus Blackback Butterflyfish

C. melapterus Arabian Butterflyfish

C. mertensii Merten's Butterflyfish

C. mesoleucosWhite-Face Butterflyfish

C. meyeri Meyer's Butterflyfish

C. milliaris Hawaiian / Lemon Butterflyfish

C. mitratus Indian / Headband Butterflyfish

C. multicinstus Multiband / Pebbled / Hawaiian Striped Butterflyfish

C. nigropunctatus Black-Spotted Butterflyfish

C. ocellatus Spotfin Butterflyfish

C. ocellicaudus Spot-Tail Butterflyfish

C. octofasciatus Eight-Banded Butterflyfish

C. ornatissimus Ornate Butterflyfish

C. oxycephalus Spot-Nape / Pig Face Butterflyfish

C. paucifasciatus Redback / Red Sea Pearlscale Butterflyfish

C. pelewensis Dot-and-Dash Butterflyfish

C. plebeius Bluespot / Coral Butterflyfish

C. punctatofasciatus Spotbanded Butterflyfish

C. quadrimaculatus Fourspot Butterflyfish

C. rafflesii Raffles's / Latticed Butterflyfish

C. rainfordi Rainford's Butterflyfish

C. reticulatus Reticulated Butterflyfish

C. robustus Robust Butterflyfish, Three-banded Butterflyfish

C. sanctaehelenae St. Helena Butterflyfish

C. sedentarius Atlantic Reef Butterflyfish

C. selene Yellow-Dotted Butterflyfish

C. semeion Dotted Butterflyfish

C. semilarvatus Golden / Addis / Blue-Mask Butterflyfish

C. smithi Smith's Butterflyfish

C. speculum Ovalspot / Speculum Butterflyfish

C. striatus Banded Butterflyfish

C. tinkeri Tinker's Butterflyfish

C. triangulum Triangular Butterflyfish

C. trichrous Tahiti Butterflyfish

C. tricinctus Three-Stripe Butterflyfish

C. trifasciatus Redfin Butterflyfish

C. ulietensis Pacific Double-Saddle Butterflyfish

C. unimaculatus Teardrop Butterflyfish

C. unimaculatus interruptus Indian Ocean Teardrop Butterflyfish

C. vagabundis Vagabond Butterflyfish

C. wiebeli Wiebel's Butterflyfish

C. xanthocephalus Yellow-Head Butterflyfish

C. xanthurus Crowned Pearlscale / Yellow-Tail Butterflyfish

C. zanzibariensis Zanzibar Butterflyfish

Chelmon

This genus contains three long-snouted butterflyfishes all from the Indo-West Pacific Ocean.

C. marginalis Margined Coralfish / Butterflyfish

C. muelleri Blackfin Coralfish / Butterflyfish

C. rostratus Copperband Butterflyfish

Chelmonops

This genus contains two long-snouted cooler water butterflyfishes both from Western Australia.

C. curiosus Western Talma

C. truncatus Truncate Butterflyfish / Coralfish

Coradion

This genus contains three, basically sponge-eating butterflyfishes, all from the Indo-Australian area.

C. altivelis Highfin Coralfish

C. chrysozonas Orangebanded / Goldengirdled Coralfish

C. melanopus Twospot Coralfish

Forcipiger

F. flavissimus Long-nosed Butterflyfish

F. longirostris Big Longnose Butterflyfish

Hemitaurichthys

H. multispinosus Many-Spined Butterflyfish

H. polylepis Pyramid Butterflyfish

H. thompsoni Thompson's Butterflyfish

H. zoster Black Pyramid Butterflyfish

Johnrandallia

J. nigrirostris Blacknosed Butterflyfish

Mesochaetodon

M. nippon Japanese Butterflyfish

Megaprotodon

M. trifascialis Chevroned Butterflyfish

Parachaetodon

P. ocellatus Sixspine / Ocellate Butterflyfish

Prognathodes

This genus now encompasses 14 species, with most noted here for your enlightenment. However, some of their photos are still unattainable, and if you could help with this or husbandry information, I and other viewers would appreciate it.

Prognathodes sp.1 (Pyle & Chave - awaiting description)

P. aculeatus Atlantic / Longsnout Butterflyfish

P. aya Bank Butterflyfish

P. brasiliensis Brazilian Butterflyfish

P. carlhubbsi

P. dichrous Bicolor / Hedgehog Butterflyfish

P. excelsa Hawaiian Brown-Banded / Gold-Barred Butterflyfish

P. falcifer Scythemarked Butterflyfish

P. guezei Gueze's Butterflyfish

P. guyanensis French Butterflyfish

P. guyotensis

P. jayakari Indian Golden-Barred / Jayakar's Butterflyfish

P. marcellae

P. modestus Brown-Banded Butterflyfish

P. obliquus Oblique Butterflyfish

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