Dot dash butterflyfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dot dash butterflyfish |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Chaetodon
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| Species: |
pelewensis
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| Synonyms | |
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Chaetodon germanus De Vis, 1884 |
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The dot dash butterflyfish (Chaetodon pelewensis) is a colorful fish that lives in the ocean. It's a type of butterflyfish, known for its bright patterns. You can find these fish swimming around coral reefs in the western Pacific Ocean. Other names for it include the spotbanded butterflyfish or punctato butterflyfish.
Contents
What Does It Look Like?
The dot dash butterflyfish has a body that looks like a mix of yellow and brown. It has cool diagonal stripes across its body. A gold bar with black edges goes right through its eye. Look closely, and you'll see a black spot on its head! Near its head and on its lower sides, the stripes turn into spots.
Its fins have bright yellow edges. The tail fin (called the caudal fin) has a bright orange base. This fish has a dorsal fin (on its back) with 13 to 14 strong spines and 22 to 25 soft rays. Its anal fin (on its belly) has 3 spines and 17 to 18 soft rays. This fish can grow up to about 12.5 centimeters (5 inches) long.
Where Does It Live?
You can find the dot dash butterflyfish in the southern Pacific Ocean. It lives in places from Papua New Guinea all the way to the Tuamotu Archipelago. This fish is very common on the Great Barrier Reef and in the Coral Sea near Australia. In Australia, it can be found as far south as central New South Wales and Lord Howe Island.
Home and Habits
Dot dash butterflyfish live in coral reefs. They can be found in waters that are at least 45 meters (148 feet) deep. These fish mainly eat small living parts of corals, called coral polyps. They also snack on other tiny creatures that live on the ocean floor.
These fish lay eggs to have babies, which means they are oviparous. They also stay with one partner for life, which is called being monogamous. Sometimes, a dot dash butterflyfish might even pair up with a spotband butterflyfish (C. punctatofasciatus). When this happens, they can sometimes have baby fish that are a mix of both species!
Why Is It Called That?
The dot dash butterflyfish was first officially described in 1868 by an Austrian scientist named Rudolf Kner. He thought the fish came from a place called Palau, which was known as Pelew Inseln in German. This is why the fish's scientific name, pelewensis, sounds like "Pelew." However, scientists later found out that the fish probably came from the Society Islands instead.
In Aquariums
Many people like to keep dot dash butterflyfish in their home aquariums. They are quite popular in the aquarium trade. Between 1988 and 2002, more than 12,000 of these fish were bought and sold for aquariums around the world.
