Blacktail butterflyfish
Last updated
Bernard E. Picton BernardP · via Wikipedia: Blacktail butterflyfish · CC BY-SA 4.0
The blacktail butterflyfish is a marine species classified as Chaetodon austriacus Rüppell, 1836, in the family Chaetodontidae.[1] The anal fin and tail are black; juvenile specimens have a whiter body on the upper side and white bands on the tail.[2]
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassActinopterygii
- DivisionTeleostei
- OrderAcanthuriformes
- FamilyChaetodontidae
- GenusChaetodon
- GenusChaetodon
- SpeciesChaetodon austriacus
Named by Rüppell, 1836
Close relatives
Other species of Chaetodon with a Codexery entry.
- Melon butterflyfish Chaetodon trifasciatus
- Scrawled butterflyfish Chaetodon meyeri
- Oval butterflyfish (Chaetodon lunulatus) Chaetodon lunulatus
- Banded butterflyfish Chaetodon striatus
- Black butterflyfish Chaetodon flavirostris
- Blackback butterflyfish Chaetodon melannotus
- Bluecheek butterflyfish Chaetodon semilarvatus
- Bluelashed butterflyfish Chaetodon bennetti
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Blacktail butterflyfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 218732 (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, 0.14 m, next to a 1.8 m person.
Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Blacktail butterflyfish
Where the blacktail butterflyfish has been recorded
Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (1,084 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 8 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 1 isolated far-off record not drawn.
Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)
Biology and range
Together with the melon and oval butterflyfishes, it makes up the subgenus Corallochaetodon.[3] Coral polyps and sea anemone tentacles are the main food items for this species.[2] The blacktail butterflyfish is thought to be closely related to the subgenus Citharoedus, which includes the scrawled butterflyfish.[3] If the genus Chaetodon is divided, this species and its relatives might be placed into the genus Megaprotodon.[3]
What the specialist sources record
The World Register of Marine Species lists Chaetodon austriacus as an accepted species in the order Acanthuriformes.[1] GBIF records 1,142 occurrence records for this taxon as of October 2026.[4]
References
- World Register of Marine Species, Chaetodon austriacus (AphiaID 218732). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
- Wikipedia, "Blacktail butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lieske, "Coral reef guide - Red Sea", HarperCollins, 2004 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Blacktail butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fessler, "Molecular phylogenetics of the butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae): Taxonomy and biogeography of a global coral reef fish family", Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2007, p. 50–68; Hsu, "Molecular phylogeny of Chaetodon (Teleostei: Chaetodontidae) in the Indo-West Pacific: evolution in geminate species pairs and species groups", Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 2007, p. 77–86 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Chaetodon austriacus (taxon key 2385336). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Blacktail 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.
More in 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.
- Wikipedia: Blacktail 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.
- Occurrence records: GBIF (CC0 / CC BY). Basemap: Natural Earth (public domain).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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