"It is a matter to gain the affection of a cat. He is a philosophical animal, tenacious of his own habits, fond of order and neatness, and disinclined to extravagant sentiment. He will be your friend, if he finds you worthy of friendship, but not your slave."

- Theophile Gautier

The Butterfly Fish

Butterfly Fish

The Butterfly Fish is a small, quick-moving marine fishes in the family Chaetodontidae (order Perciformes). Butterfly fishes are found among tropical reefs around the world but are concentrated in the Indo-Pacific oceanic region.

Butterfly fishes are deep-bodied and thin from side to side, with a single dorsal fin and a small mouth with tiny, bristlelike teeth. The jaws are sometimes drawn out into a relatively long snout, as in the longnose butterfly fish (Chelmon rostratus) of the Indo-Pacific and the longsnout butterfly fish (Prognathodes aculeatus) of the Atlantic. Most species have strong, prominent spines on the front portions of their dorsal fins.

Butterfly fishes are small, seldom exceeding a length of about 20 cm (8 inches). They move about with a flitting, darting motion and are very brightly coloured. Black and shades of yellow predominate, and markings are often in the form of dark bands and one or more large spots (ocelli) on the dorsal or posterior region that may serve to confuse predators. Butterfly fishes usually frequent shallow inshore waters, where they feed on a variety of crustaceans and on coral polyps.

Fast and flexible, they can dart quickly into coral crevices to avoid predators and chase after food items. This type of coloration serves to disrupt the outline of the body against the background of the coral reef, making it difficult for predators to detect them.

Four Eye Butterfly Fish

The family contains 10 genera, with the genus Chaetodon alone accounting for almost 90 species. Among them are the four eyed butterfly fish (Chaetodon capistratus), a common West Indian species with a white-ringed, black ocellus near its tail; the spotfin butterfly fish (C. ocellatus), a western Atlantic species with yellow fins and a dark spot at the base of its dorsal fin; and the pennant coralfish, or feather-fin bull fish (Heniochus acuminatus), a black-and-white striped Indo-Pacific species with a very long spine in its dorsal fin.

"butterfly fish." Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite. (2007).