Hawaiian butterflyfish

The Hawaiian butterflyfish (Chaetodon tinkeri), also known as Tinker's butterflyfish, is a marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae of order Perciformes. It is found in the central Pacific Ocean.

Hawaiian butterflyfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Chaetodontidae
Genus: Chaetodon
Subgenus: Rhombochaetodon
Species:
C. tinkeri
Binomial name
Chaetodon tinkeri

Description

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It grows to a maximum length of 15 cm (5.9 in). It swims alone or in pairs and occasionally in small aggregations. Its coloring is divided on the diagonal between black and white. It has gold dorsal and tail fins, and a gold vertical bar across its eyes.[2] The dorsal fin has 13-14 spines and 18-22 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 16-18 soft rays. It attains a maximum total length of 15 centimetres (5.9 in).[3]

Range and habitat

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This fish inhabits Hawaii, Johnston Atoll and the Marshall Islands in the tropical Pacific Ocean. It prefers steep slopes, near black corals at depths of 27–135 m (89–443 ft).[2][3]

Feeding

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The Hawaiian butterflyfish feeds on a variety of planktonic and benthic organisms.[3]

Taxonomy and etymology

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The Hawaiian butterflyfish was first formally described by the American ichthyologist Leonard Peter Schultz (1901-1986) in 1952 with the type locality given as Nanakuli on Oahu in Hawaii.[4] The specific name honours Spencer W. Tinker who discovered it in 1949, trapping them in fish traps at 90 feet (27 m) off Oahu, Hawaii.[2]

In the aquarium

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These fish are somewhat popular in aquaria.

References

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  1. ^ Carlson, B.; Pyle, R.; Myers, R.F.; Rocha, L.A.; Craig, M.T. (2010). "Chaetodon tinkeri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T165698A6095139. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165698A6095139.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Hoover, John P. (2008). The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. Mutual Publishing. ISBN 978-1-56647-887-8.
  3. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Chaetodon tinkeri". FishBase. December 2019 version.
  4. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Chaetodon". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 5 December 2019.