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| The
butterflyfishes are colorful and conspicuous small
fishes commonly seen on shallow coral reefs. There
are a large number of species on Indo-Pacific reefs,
but only seven species occur in the Caribbean. The
four shallow-water species are all Chaetodon
spp., and easily separated by fin ray counts.
The remaining three species, all found in deep water,
have been transferred to Prognathodes
spp. Larval chaetodontids are well-developed
miniatures of the adults and unmistakeable. |
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| Diagnosis:
A butterflyfish with a modal dorsal fin ray count
of XIII,19-20 A-III,16-17 indicates Chaetodon
capistratus. C.
sedentarius also has thirteen dorsal spines
but has 21-23 soft rays.
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| Description:
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| Chaetodon
capistratus recruit |
| 11.2 mm SL |
| San Blas, Panama, SB80-091 |
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| Diagnosis:
A butterflyfish with a modal dorsal fin ray count of XII,19-21
A-III,16-18 indicates Chaetodon
ocellatus. C.
striatus slightly overlaps the count, with 21-22
soft dorsal fin rays. Small juveniles of this species
are typically bright white and yellow, but some new recruits
show darker body pigmentation.
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| Description:
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| Chaetodon
ocellatus recruit |
| 14.7 mm SL |
| darker-bodied variation |
| San Blas, Panama, SB81-018 |
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All contents © copyright 2006-2013
All rights reserved
www.coralreeffish.com by Benjamin Victor
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