Chaetodon leucopleura

Chaetodon leucopleura, the Somali butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the northwestern Indian Ocean.

Chaetodon leucopleura
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Chaetodontidae
Genus: Chaetodon
Subgenus: Chaetodon (Rabdophorus)
Species:
C. leucopleura
Binomial name
Chaetodon leucopleura
Playfair, 1867
Synonyms[2]
  • Chaetodon leucopygus Ahl, 1923

Description

Chaetodon leucopleura has a laterally compressed and oval shaped body with a pointed snout as is typical for butterflyfish. The lower part of the body is white while the upper part being dark greyish black. They have a yellow curved line along the margin of the operculum and a black bar running through the eye. There are 5–6 thin, horizontal lines between the eyes and the upper lips are black. The fins are yellow.[3] The dorsal fin has 12 spines and 21–23 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 18–19 soft rays. This species attains a maximum standard length of 18 centimetres (7.1 in).[2]

Distribution

Chaetodon leucopleura is found in the northwestern Indian Ocean, it occurs in the along the East African coast from Sudan south to Zanzibar, the island of Socotra, the Seychelles south to Aldabra. In the southern Red Sea it is found around the Farasan Islands of Saudi Arabia and off Yemen.[1]

Habitat and biology

Chaetodon leucopleura appears to have a preference for deeper water and is found at depths of 7 to 80 metres (23 to 262 ft).[1] They occur on deep coral rich reefs, frequently close to the base of slopes over coral scree. They are typically encountered either solitarily or as pairs over open bottoms. It is an uncommon species. They form pairs for breeding and are oviparous.[2] Their diet consists of coral polyps and benthic invertebrates. [4]

Systematics

Chaetodon leucopleura was first formally described in 1867 by the Scots naturalist Lambert Playfair (1828–1899) with the type locality given as Zanzibar.[5] This species is tentatively placed in the large subgenus Rabdophorus which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus.[6]

References
  1. Myers, R. & Pratchett, M. (2010). "Chaetodon leucopleura". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T165610A6067508. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165610A6067508.en. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Chaetodon leucopleura" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. "Somali Butterflyfish – Facts and Photographs". seaunseen.com. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  4. "Chaetodon leucopleura". Saltcorner. Bob Goemans. 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  5. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Chaetodon". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  6. 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.
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