Hong Kong butterflyfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hong Kong butterflyfish |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Chaetodon
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| Species: |
wiebeli
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| Synonyms | |
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The Hong Kong butterflyfish (Chaetodon wiebeli) is a beautiful fish. It is also called Wiebel's butterflyfish or the blackcap butterflyfish. This fish lives in the ocean, specifically in the western Pacific. It belongs to a group of fish known as butterflyfish.
What Does It Look Like?
The Hong Kong butterflyfish has a flat, oval-shaped body. Its head is about as tall as it is wide. It has a short snout and a small mouth. Inside its mouth are many small, bristle-like teeth. In fact, the name Chaetodon means "bristle tooth."
This fish is mostly yellow. It has slanted brown lines on its body. A black band goes vertically through its eye. Behind this black band is a white stripe. There is also a black spot on its forehead.
Its fins are yellow. These include the fins on its back (dorsal fin), belly (pelvic fin), and tail (caudal fin). The tail fin also has a black edge. This fish can grow up to about 7.5 inches (19 cm) long.
Where Does It Live?
The Hong Kong butterflyfish lives in the western Pacific Ocean. You can find it from southern Japan and South Korea down to northern Java. It also lives in the Gulf of Thailand.
Habitat and Life Cycle
This butterflyfish lives in both rocky reefs and coral reefs. They usually swim around in pairs. Sometimes, you might see them in small groups called shoals.
They like to eat different things. Their diet includes tiny coral polyps, small animals without backbones (invertebrates), and algae. They often graze algae off rocks.
When it's time to have babies, these fish form pairs. They are an oviparous species, which means they lay eggs. You can find them swimming at depths from about 13 to 82 feet (4 to 25 meters).
About Its Name
The Hong Kong butterflyfish was first officially described in 1863. A German scientist named Johann Jakob Kaup gave it its scientific name. He named the species wiebeli to honor his friend, Karl Maximilian Wiebel. Wiebel was a naturalist who helped start the Zoological Museum in Hamburg.
