Melon butterflyfish

The melon butterflyfish (Chaetodon trifasciatus), or Indian redfin butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indian Ocean from East Africa to Western Java. This is one species of a closely related group which includes the blacktail butterflyfish (C. austriacus) of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and the oval butterflyfish (C. lunulatus) which is found in the western Pacific, from eastern coasts of the Indonesian islands to Australia.[3][2]

Melon butterflyfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Chaetodontidae
Genus: Chaetodon
Subgenus: Chaetodon (Corallochaetodon)
Species:
C. trifasciatus
Binomial name
Chaetodon trifasciatus
M. Park, 1797
Synonyms[2]
  • Chaetodon trifasciatus trifasciatus Park, 1797
  • Mesochaetodon trifasciatus (Park, 1797)
  • Tetragonoptrus trifasciatus (Park, 1797)
  • Chaetodon vittatus Bloch & Schneider, 1801
  • Tetragonoptrus vittatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
  • Chaetodon taunigrum Cuvier, 1831
  • Chaetodon bellus Solander, 1839
  • Chaetodon layardi Blyth, 1852
  • Chaetodon pepek Montrouzier, 1857
  • Chaetodon ovalis Thiollière, 1857
  • Chaetodon trifasciatus caudifasciatus Ahl, 1923

Melon butterflyfish should not to be confused with chevron butterflyfish (C. trifascialis), three-striped butterflyfish (C. tricinctus), or three-banded butterflyfish (C. robustus).

Description and characteristics

The oval butterflyfish and the blacktail butterflyfish resemble C. trifasciatus in coloration. The former has a less conspicuous back patch below the dorsal fin and a mainly dark anal fin, while the latter has black caudal and anal fins.[3][2]

A pair in the Maldives.

Melon, black-tailed and oval butterflyfishes and probably also the somewhat aberrant Arabian butterflyfish (C. melapterus) make up the subgenus Corallochaetodon, of which C. trifasciatus is the type species. They are probably quite close to the subgenus called "Citharoedus" (that name is a junior homonym of a mollusc genus), which contains for example the scrawled butterflyfish (C. meyeri). Like that group, they might be separated in Megaprotodon if the genus Chaetodon is split up.[4][5]

Habitat and range

The melon butterflyfish is found in the Indian Ocean from East Africa to Western Java, at depths between 2 and 20 m, in coral-rich lagoons and semi-protected seaward reefs. Small juveniles are secretive and hide in corals.

Ecology and behaviour

Growing to a maximum of 15 cm long, the monogamous adults swim in pairs and may be territorial and aggressive to other Chaetodon. Melon butterflyfish feed exclusively on coral polyps, particularly of Pocillopora. They are oviparous.[2]

References
  1. Pyle, R.; Rocha, L.A.; Craig, M.T. & Pratchett, M. (2010). "Chaetodon trifasciatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T165673A6087793. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165673A6087793.en. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Chaetodon trifasciatus" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. Lieske, E. & Myers, R.F. (2004). Coral reef guide – Red Sea. HarperCollins, London. ISBN 0-00-715986-2.
  4. Fessler, Jennifer L.; Westneat, Mark W (2007). "Molecular phylogenetics of the butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae): Taxonomy and biogeography of a global coral reef fish family". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45 (1): 50–68. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.05.018.
  5. Hsu, Kui-Ching; Chen, Jeng-Ping & Shao, Kwang-Tsao (2007). "Molecular phylogeny of Chaetodon (Teleostei: Chaetodontidae) in the Indo-West Pacific: evolution in geminate species pairs and species groups" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement. 14: 77–86. Archived 2007-08-11 at the Wayback Machine
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