Mirror butterflyfish

The mirror butterflyfish or oval-spot butterflyfish (Chaetodon speculum) is a species of butterflyfish (family Chaetodontidae). It is found in the Indo-Pacific region from Indonesia to Japan and south to the Great Barrier Reef and Papua New Guinea. The species has also been reported from Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion.[2]

Mirror butterflyfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Chaetodontidae
Genus: Chaetodon
Subgenus: Chaetodon (Tetrachaetodon)
Species:
C. speculum
Binomial name
Chaetodon speculum
G. Cuvier, 1831
Synonyms[2]
  • Nalbantius speculum (Cuvier, 1831)
  • Chaetodon spilopleura Cuvier, 1831
  • Chaetodon ocellifer V. Franz, 1910

It grows to a maximum of 18 cm (7 in) in length. There are 14 spines and 17-18 soft rays in the dorsal fin and 3 spines and 15-16 soft rays in the anal fin.[2] The body color is a bright to orange-yellow with a big black blotch below the dorsal fin and a vertical black bar running through the eye.[3]

The mirror butterflyfish was first formally described in 1831 by the French anatomist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) with the type locality given as Jakarta.[4]

Like the other butterflyfishes with angular yellow bodies with black eyestripes and a single differently-colored patch (except in the quite basal Blue-lashed Butterflyfish, C. bennetti), it belongs in the subgenus Tetrachaetodon. Among this group it seems to be particularly close to the Zanzibar butterflyfish (Chaetodon zanzibarensis) which has a smaller black blotch and traces of horizontal stripes on the flanks. If Chaetodon is split up, the subgenus Tetrachaetodon would be placed in Megaprotodon.[5][6]

The Mirror Butterflyfish is found in coral reefs at depths between 3 and 30 m. It favors coastal reef slopes rich in hydroids and sea anemones. Small juveniles hide in coral thickets. Usually, this species is solitary and relatively uncommon. They feed on coral polyps and invertebrates.[2]

References
  1. Allen, G.R.; Myers, R.F. (2010). "Chaetodon speculum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T165694A6093968. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165694A6093968.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Chaetodon speculum" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. Dianne J. Bray. "Chaetodon speculum". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  4. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Chaetodon". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  5. Fessler, Jennifer L.; Westneat, Mark W (2007). "Molecular phylogenetics of the butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae): Taxonomy and biogeography of a global coral reef fish family". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45 (1): 50–68. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.05.018.
  6. Hsu, Kui-Ching; Chen, Jeng-Ping & Shao, Kwang-Tsao (2007). "Molecular phylogeny of Chaetodon (Teleostei: Chaetodontidae) in the Indo-West Pacific: evolution in geminate species pairs and species groups" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement. 14: 77–86. Archived 2007-08-11 at the Wayback Machine
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