Eastern triangle butterflyfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eastern triangle butterflyfish |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Chaetodon
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| Species: |
baronessa
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| Synonyms | |
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Citharoedus gonochaetodon baronessa (Cuvier, 1829) |
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The eastern triangle butterflyfish (Chaetodon baronessa), also called the baroness butterflyfish, is a beautiful species of fish that lives in the ocean. It is a type of butterflyfish, part of the family called Chaetodontidae. You can find it in the central Indo-West Pacific, from the Cocos-Keeling Islands and Indonesia in the eastern Indian Ocean all the way to Fiji and Tonga. It also lives north near southern Japan and south near New Caledonia and New South Wales in Australia.
What Does It Look Like?
This fish can grow up to 16 centimeters (about 6 inches) long. Its body has a cool pattern of cream and grey-brown to purple stripes. These stripes look like "chevrons," which are V-shapes often seen on military badges. The fish also has three dark stripes on its head, with one of them going right across its eye.
Where Does It Live and What Does It Do?
The eastern triangle butterflyfish lives in coral reefs, both near the open ocean and inside calm lagoons. These fish usually swim around in pairs, like best friends. They are also quite "territorial," meaning they like to protect their own space on the reef. This species has a special diet: it only eats the soft parts, called "polyps," of certain Acropora corals that grow in tubes.
