The spotfin butterflyfish (Chaetodon ocellatus) is species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish from the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean, in the Gulf of Mexico and most commonly found in the Caribbean Sea.
| Spotfin butterflyfish | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Acanthuriformes |
| Family: | Chaetodontidae |
| Genus: | Chaetodon |
| Subgenus: | Chaetodon (Chaetodon) |
| Species: | C. ocellatus
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| Binomial name | |
| Chaetodon ocellatus Bloch, 1787
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| Synonyms[2] | |
The name is derived from the dark spot on the fish's dorsal fin. This, combined with a vertical, black bar through the eye, is an adaptation that can confuse predators. The vertical black bar disappears as the fish gets older and other black lines become more prominent. Along with other Caribbean Seas reef dwelling tropical fish, many young spotfin butterfly fish get sucked up the gulf stream from July to late October and are dumped into Long Island bays.[3] The spotfin butterfly fish is very common and very hard to maintain in a tank. The spotfin butterfly fish can grow up to 6–8 inches.
References
edit- ^ Rocha, L.A. (2010). "Chaetodon ocellatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T165611A6067709. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165611A6067709.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Chaetodon ocellatus". FishBase. December 2019 version.
- ^ Venkataraman, Bina (5 August 2008). "For Aquariums, the Small Fry Swept North Become a Big Catch". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- "Chaetodon ocellatus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 6 June 2006.
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Chaetodon ocellatus". FishBase. November 2005 version.
External links
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- Photos of Spotfin butterflyfish on Sealife Collection