Teardrop Butterflyfish | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Perciformes |
Family: | Chaetodontidae |
Genus: | Chaetodon (but see text) |
Subgenus: | Lepidochaetodon |
Species: | C. unimaculatus |
Binomial name | |
Chaetodon unimaculatus Bloch, 1787 |
The Teardrop Butterflyfish, Chaetodon unimaculatus, is a species of butterflyfish (family Chaetodontidae).
The fish is native to the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean.
It is found from Maritime Southeast Asia east to to the Hawaiian Islands, Marquesan Islands, and Ducie Island; north to southern Japan; south to the Lord Howe and Rapa islands; and throughout Micronesia.
In the Indian Ocean it is replaced by the Yellow Teardrop Butterflyfish (Chaetodon interruptus), now a separate species but previously considered a subspecies of Chaetodon unimaculatus.
In its subgenus Lepidochaetodon it is sometimes considered a separate genus. It is only distantly related to other Chaetodon species such as the Sunburst Butterflyfish (Chaetodon kleinii) and the Tahiti Butterflyfish (Chaetodon trichrous).