Parachaetodon facts for kids
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The Sixspine Butterflyfish (Parachaetodon ocellatus) is a beautiful fish. It is also known as the Ocellate Butterflyfish or Eyespot Butterflyfish. This fish lives in warm, tropical reefs. You can find it in the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It is the only species in its group, called Parachaetodon.
What Does It Look Like?
The Sixspine Butterflyfish has a mostly white body. It has five brown or orange stripes. One stripe goes right through its eye. This stripe is orange with black edges. Another stripe starts under the middle of its back fin. It has a dark spot near the base of this fin.
You can also see an oval-shaped black mark near its tail. This mark has a shiny silver edge. There is a lighter stripe along the edges of its back and bottom fins. The back fin has 6 to 7 sharp spines and 28 to 30 soft rays. The bottom fin has 3 spines and 18 to 20 soft rays. This fish can grow up to 18 centimeters (about 7 inches) long.
Where Does It Live?
The Sixspine Butterflyfish lives across a wide area. This area stretches from eastern India and Sri Lanka. It goes east through Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It reaches into the Pacific Ocean as far as Fiji.
It can be found as far north as the Ryukyu Islands and Ogasawara Islands in Japan. To the south, it reaches Australia. In Australia, it lives from Western Australia all the way to Sydney on the east coast. Young fish have even been seen as far south as Perth.
Habitat and Life Cycle
You can find the Sixspine Butterflyfish on reefs close to the coast. They usually live in pairs or small groups. They prefer open areas with sand or mud at the bottom. These spots often have scattered patches of sponges.
Younger fish are sometimes found in seagrass beds. These are usually in calm, sheltered places like bays or lagoons. The Sixspine Butterflyfish eats small creatures that live on the seafloor. It might also eat some sponges. These fish lay eggs, and they form pairs when they are ready to spawn.
How It Got Its Name
The Sixspine Butterflyfish was first officially described in 1831. A French scientist named Georges Cuvier gave it the name Platax ocellatus. Later, in 1850, a Dutch fish expert named Pieter Bleeker described a new butterflyfish from Java. He called it Chaetodon oligacanthus.
In 1874, Bleeker placed Cuvier's fish into a new group called Parachaetodon. Scientists later realized that Cuvier's Platax ocellatus and Bleeker's fish were actually the same species.
