Butterflyfish Codexery

Raccoon butterflyfish

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Raccoon butterflyfish

Brocken Inaglory · via Wikipedia: Raccoon butterflyfish · CC BY-SA 4.0

The raccoon butterflyfish is a marine species in the family Chaetodontidae, order Acanthuriformes.[1] It can reach a length of 20 cm (nearly 8 in) in the wild.[2] This fish is named for the black and white bands over its face that resemble a raccoon mask.[2]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassActinopterygii
  4. DivisionTeleostei
  5. OrderAcanthuriformes
  6. FamilyChaetodontidae
  7. GenusChaetodon
  8. GenusChaetodon
  9. SpeciesChaetodon lunula

Named by (Lacépède, 1802)

Close relatives

Other species of Chaetodon with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Raccoon butterflyfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 218733 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

  1. LC▲ this species
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2010

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Raccoon butterflyfish and a personA 0.2 m long raccoon butterflyfish drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.2 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.2 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Raccoon butterflyfish

Where the raccoon butterflyfish has been recorded

Where the raccoon butterflyfish has been recorded245 mapped locations from 9,175 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Atlantic OceanAtlantic Ocean

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (9,175 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 36 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Biology and range

The species is found widely throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific region.[2] Its range extends from East Africa to the Hawaiian and Marquesan islands, north to southern Japan.[2] It also occurs in the southeast Atlantic off South Africa.[2] This species prefers seaward reefs and shallow reef flats of lagoon, at a depth of over 30 m.[2]

Groups of this nocturnal species, Chaetodon lunula, are typically small.[2] The dorsal fin possesses between 10 and 14 spines, while the anal fin has 3 spines.[3] When kept in an aquarium, a lifespan ranging from five to seven years is typical.[4] Except towards lionfish and triggerfish, the raccoon butterflyfish usually shows no aggression to other fish.[4]

What the specialist sources record

Bob Fenner's article in Tropical Fish Magazine states that the raccoon butterflyfish grows to some 10 inches (25 cm) in length in the wild.[5] Fenner notes that in captivity it grows only about half that size.[5] The same source reports that raccoons can reach more than 9 inches (23 cm) in total length and grow an inch (2.5 cm) or more in half a year.[5] The article adds that raccoons will eliminate these pests within a two- to six-week period depending on the anemone population and tank size.[4]

Fenner warns that they will eagerly feed on any soft corals and may cause more harm than good to the decoration.[4]

References

  1. World Register of Marine Species, Chaetodon lunula (AphiaID 218733). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Raccoon butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Raccoon butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bob Fenner, "The Raccoon Butterflyfishes: Chaetodon lunula and Chaetodon fasciatus", Tropical Fish Magazine; (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Raccoon butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bob Fenner, "The Raccoon Butterflyfishes: Chaetodon lunula and Chaetodon fasciatus", Tropical Fish Magazine (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Bob Fenner, "The Raccoon Butterflyfishes: Chaetodon lunula and Chaetodon fasciatus", Tropical Fish Magazine. facts only, no text reused. tfhmagazine.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Raccoon butterflyfish (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Same family (Chaetodontidae)

Bank butterflyfish Prognathodes aya, Chelmon marginalis Chelmon marginalis, Chelmon muelleri Chelmon muelleri, Copperband butterflyfish Chelmon rostratus, Forcipiger longirostris Forcipiger longirostris, Hemitaurichthys multispinosus Hemitaurichthys multispinosus

Named in this entry

Genus, Ciliate

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Chaetodon rainfordiRedtail butterflyfishSaddle butterflyfishChaetodon sanctaehelenaeScrawled butterflyfishChaetodon smithiSpeckled butterflyfishSpotband butterflyfishSpot-nape butterflyfishSpot-tail butterflyfishSunburst butterflyfishTeardrop butterflyfish

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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