Saddle butterflyfish
A large butterflyfish with a black saddle and blue lines.
Last updated
Leonard Low from Australia · via Wikipedia: Saddle butterflyfish · CC BY 2.0
The saddle butterflyfish (Chaetodon ephippium) is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Chaetodontidae, found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is notable as one of the largest butterflyfishes, reaching up to 30 cm in length, and for its distinctive coloration and a filament extending from the dorsal fin in adults.
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassActinopterygii
- DivisionTeleostei
- OrderAcanthuriformes
- FamilyChaetodontidae
- GenusChaetodon
- GenusChaetodon
- SpeciesChaetodon ephippium
Named by G. Cuvier, 1831
Close relatives
Other species of Chaetodon with a Codexery entry.
- Blackback butterflyfish Chaetodon melannotus
- Lined butterflyfish Chaetodon lineolatus
- Yellow-dotted butterflyfish Chaetodon selene
- Dotted butterflyfish (Chaetodon semeion) Chaetodon semeion
- Banded butterflyfish Chaetodon striatus
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Saddle butterflyfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 273335 (CC BY 4.0)
Conservation status
Least Concern (LC)
- LC▲ this species
- NT
- VU
- EN
- CR
- EW
- EX
Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category
How big is it?
Largest length in the source, 0.3 m, next to a 1.8 m person.
Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Saddle butterflyfish
Background
The saddle butterflyfish was first formally described in 1831 by the French anatomist Georges Cuvier, with the type locality given as Bora Bora in the Society Islands. It belongs to the large subgenus Rabdophorus, which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus. Within this group, it appears to represent a distinct lineage, with the dotted butterflyfish (Chaetodon semeion) perhaps the only somewhat closely related species. Next closest seems to be a group including the blackback butterflyfish (C. melannotus), spot-tailed butterflyfish (C. ocellicaudus) and yellow-dotted butterflyfish (C. selene), but these are already so distant that their ancestors must have diverged from the saddle butterflyfish's soon after the Rabdophorus lineage started to diversify.
More in Butterflyfish
Test yourself
Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.
Answers checked against the source article
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.
- Wikipedia: Saddle butterflyfish (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Classification: the source article's taxobox; order, family and genus checked against WoRMS, the World Register of Marine Species (CC BY 4.0).
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List assessment.
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced