Indian rib butterflyfish
| Indian rib butterflyfish | ||||||||||||
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A pair of Indian Ribbed Butterflyfish |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chaetodon trifasciatus | ||||||||||||
| Park , 1797 |
The Indian rib butterflyfish ( Chaetodon trifasciatus ) lives in the coral reefs of the tropical Indian Ocean from the coast of East Africa to Bali , where its range overlaps with that of its Pacific sister species Chaetodon lunulatus . In the Red Sea it is replaced by Chaetodon austriacus .
features
The Indian rib butterflyfish becomes 15 centimeters long and has an oval, almost round body shape. The muzzle hardly protrudes. It differs from its Pacific sister species by its light blue basic color, Chaetodon lunulatus is more yellowish, and its orange caudal fin stalk. The edge of the caudal fin is transparent in all butterfly fish of the subgenus Corallochaetodon .
Fin formula : Dorsal XIII – XIV / 20–22, Anale III / 18–21.
Way of life
Indian rib butterflyfish live in pairs that stay together for life in very shallow water at depths of two to twenty meters. Coral-rich lagoons and protected outer reefs are preferred. The fish are territorial and aggressive towards other Chaetodon species. As food specialists, they feed exclusively on the polyps of the hard corals , especially Pocillopora , between whose branches the young fish also lead their very hidden life.
literature
- Rudie H. Kuiter , Helmut Debelius : Butterfly fish, Chaetodon. 2003, Ulmer Verlag, ISBN 3-80014-243-0 .
- Roger C. Steene: Butterfly and Angelfish, Volume 1. 1977, Mergus Verlag, ISBN 3-88244-001-5 .
Web links
- Indian Ribbed Butterflyfish on Fishbase.org (English)
- Chaetodon trifasciatus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: Pyle, R., Rocha, LA, Craig, MT & Pratchett, M., 2009. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
Remarks
- ↑ M. Park: Descriptions of eight new fishes from Sumatra, sometimes cited as Mungo Park ( CAS Catalog of Fishes ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. )
