Yellowhead butterflyfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yellowhead butterflyfish |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Chaetodontidae |
| Genus: | Chaetodon |
| Subgenus: | Chaetodon (Rabdophorus) |
| Species: |
C. xanthocephalus
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| Binomial name | |
| Chaetodon xanthocephalus E. T. Bennett, 1833
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| Synonyms | |
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The Yellowhead butterflyfish (Chaetodon xanthocephalus) is a beautiful fish. It lives in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. This fish is known for its bright colors. It is a type of marine fish from the Chaetodontidae family.
What It Looks Like
The Yellowhead butterflyfish has a pearly white body. It has a bright golden-yellow band on its head. This yellow color also runs along its back and belly. Its fins are also yellow. The white parts of its body have grayish-blue V-shaped marks.
It has a short black line through its eyes. A thin yellow line is found at the back of its gill cover. Its orange top (dorsal) and bottom (anal) fins have light black spots. These fins also have yellow edges. The tail fin is light gray with a yellow edge. This fish can grow up to 20 centimeters (about 8 inches) long.
Where It Lives
The Yellowhead butterflyfish is found all over the tropical parts of the Indian Ocean. You can see it from Somalia to Durban in South Africa. It also lives near Madagascar. Its range goes east to Sri Lanka and western Thailand. It is also found in northwestern Sumatra.
Life and Habits
You can find the Yellowhead butterflyfish in waters from 1 to 30 meters deep. They usually swim alone. Sometimes, they form small groups of 5 or 6 fish. They often hang out around single coral heads. These fish can be a bit aggressive towards other butterflyfish. They eat both plants and small animals, which means they are omnivores.
Life Cycle
Yellowhead butterflyfish form pairs when they are ready to breed. The female fish gets bigger when she is ready to lay eggs. She releases her eggs into the water. The male then fertilizes them. The eggs are round and float in the water.
The eggs hatch after about 28 to 30 hours. The tiny fish larvae then grow a bony plate over their heads. These special larvae are called "tholichthys." They spend a long time floating in the open water. Slowly, they grow into young fish. This long "tholichthys" stage makes it very hard to raise butterflyfish in aquariums.
About Its Name
The Yellowhead butterflyfish was first officially described in 1833. An English scientist named Edward Turner Bennett gave it its name. He found it near Sri Lanka. This fish belongs to a larger group called Rabdophorus.
