Sunburst butterflyfish
Encyclopedia
The Sunburst Butterflyfish is also known as the Black-lipped Butterflyfish (or "blacklip butterflyfish") or Klein's Butterflyfish. In the creole
s of Mauritius
and Réunion
it is called papillon ("butterfly"). Its scientific name is Chaetodon kleinii.
It is a native of the Indo-Pacific
region, from the Red Sea
and East Africa
to the Hawaiian Islands
and Samoa
, north to southern Japan
, south to Australia
and New Caledonia
. It is also found in Galapagos Islands
in the Eastern Pacific.
Under its junior synonym C. corallicola was placed in the monotypic
subgenus
Tifia, but this cannot be separated from the earlier-described Lepidochaetodon (sometimes considered a separate genus
). It appears to be closer to the Tahiti Butterflyfish (C. trichrous) than to the Teardrop Butterflyfish
(C. unimaculatus).
bars, one running from near the origin of the dorsal spine
to the belly, and sometimes another running from the middle of the back to the center of the body. A black bar runs vertically across the eye, and the part before this is whitish, with a black snout. The color varies somewhat across the range; western specimens usually have one beige
bar, while eastern ones have two white bars. There may be numerous dotted horizontal stripes on the sides, or another dark band between the two light ones in eastern specimens.
In the wild, the Sunburst Butterflyfish is found at depths of 4–61 meters, usually in deeper lagoon
s and channels and seaward reef
s, swimming singly, or (particularly during breeding) in pairs. These fish are oviparous.
They are omnivore
s, feeding mainly on soft coral polyps (especially Litophyton viridis and Sarcophyton tracheliophorum), algae
and zooplankton
. In the aquarium
, Chaetodon kleinii will eat meaty food such as mysis
. Its coral-eating habits can become a nuisance, but on the other hand they are fond of Aiptasia
, small sea anemone
s that often become a pest in seawater aquaria.
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
s of Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
and Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
it is called papillon ("butterfly"). Its scientific name is Chaetodon kleinii.
It is a native of the Indo-Pacific
Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
region, from the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
and East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
to the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
and Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, north to southern Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, south to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. It is also found in Galapagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
in the Eastern Pacific.
Under its junior synonym C. corallicola was placed in the monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
subgenus
Subgenus
In biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.In zoology, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the generic name and the specific epithet: e.g. the Tiger Cowry of the Indo-Pacific, Cypraea tigris Linnaeus, which...
Tifia, but this cannot be separated from the earlier-described Lepidochaetodon (sometimes considered a separate genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
). It appears to be closer to the Tahiti Butterflyfish (C. trichrous) than to the Teardrop Butterflyfish
Teardrop butterflyfish
The Teardrop Butterflyfish, Chaetodon unimaculatus, is a species of butterflyfish .In the Indian Ocean it is replaced by the Yellow Teardrop Butterflyfish , now considered to be a separate species but previously included in C. unimaculatus as a subspecies...
(C. unimaculatus).
Description and ecology
The body of this fish is yellowish brown with 1-2 broad lighter verticalVertical direction
In astronomy, geography, geometry and related sciences and contexts, a direction passing by a given point is said to be vertical if it is locally aligned with the gradient of the gravity field, i.e., with the direction of the gravitational force at that point...
bars, one running from near the origin of the dorsal spine
Fish anatomy
Fish anatomy is primarily governed by the physical characteristics of water, which is much denser than air, holds a relatively small amount of dissolved oxygen, and absorbs more light than air does.- Body :...
to the belly, and sometimes another running from the middle of the back to the center of the body. A black bar runs vertically across the eye, and the part before this is whitish, with a black snout. The color varies somewhat across the range; western specimens usually have one beige
Beige
Beige may be described as an off tan color or an extremely pale brown color.The term originates from beige cloth, a cotton fabric left undyed in its natural color...
bar, while eastern ones have two white bars. There may be numerous dotted horizontal stripes on the sides, or another dark band between the two light ones in eastern specimens.
In the wild, the Sunburst Butterflyfish is found at depths of 4–61 meters, usually in deeper lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
s and channels and seaward reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
s, swimming singly, or (particularly during breeding) in pairs. These fish are oviparous.
They are omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
s, feeding mainly on soft coral polyps (especially Litophyton viridis and Sarcophyton tracheliophorum), algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
and zooplankton
Zooplankton
Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...
. In the aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
, Chaetodon kleinii will eat meaty food such as mysis
Mysis
Mysis is a genus of mysid crustaceans in the family Mysidae, distributed mainly in the coastal zone of the Arctic and high boreal seas. There are also several species that inhabit northern freshwater lakes and the brackish Caspian Sea. Sixteen species are known...
. Its coral-eating habits can become a nuisance, but on the other hand they are fond of Aiptasia
Aiptasia
Aiptasia is a genus of a symbiotic cnidarian belonging to the class Anthozoa . Other well known cnidarian groups include the jellyfish , the hydroids , and the box jellyfish...
, small sea anemone
Sea anemone
Sea anemones are a group of water-dwelling, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria; they are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flower. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Zoantharia. Anthozoa often have large polyps that allow for digestion of larger...
s that often become a pest in seawater aquaria.