Chaetodon falcula
| Chaetodon falcula | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Chaetodontidae |
| Genus: | Chaetodon (but see text) |
| Subgenus: | Rabdophorus |
| Species: | C. (R.) falcula |
| Binomial name | |
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Chaetodon (Rabdophorus) falcula Bloch, 1795 |
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Chaetodon falcula, the blackwedged butterflyfish or falcula butterflyfish, is a species of butterflyfish (family Chaetodontidae). It is found in the Indian Ocean, from eastern Africa south to 27°S and east to Indonesia.
It grows to a maximum of 20 cm (nearly 8 in) long. Its shape is reminiscent of longsnout butterflyfish, though the snout is not as extremely prolonged and the pattern is very different. The body is white with a series of narrow vertical dark grey lines and bright yellow and orange over the back, dorsal fin, anal fin and caudal fin. There are two well-defined black saddles on the back, and as usual the characteristic black eye-band of Chaetodon is present.
The blackwedged butterflyfish is found on the reef edge and upper slope. It prefers current-prone habitats 1–20 m deep. It mainly feeds on invertebrates.
It belongs to the large subgenus Rabdophorus which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus. In this group, the closest relative of this peculiar species is the similar-looking Pacific double-saddle butterflyfish or "false falcula", C. ulietensis. Other fairly close relatives are the quite differently-shaped but similarly colored lined (C. lineolatus) and spot-naped butterflyfishes (C. oxycephalus), while the blue-cheeked butterflyfish (C. semilarvatus) seems to be a far more basal lineage relative to all of these. The bluish vertical lines are present in all of these, while a white body with yellow behind and black on back and caudal peduncle are only shared among the four less ancient species.
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