Prognathodes

Florida butterflyfish ( Prognathodes aya )

Prognathodes is a twelve kinds of species of the butterfly fish ( Chaetodontidae ). They live in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean, some species endemic to a very restricted area of ​​distribution, eg Prognathodes dichrous at St. Helena and Ascension or Prognathodes obliquus at the St. Peter and St. Paul's Rocks.

Features

Prognathodes species are 10 to 16 inches long, have high backs and mostly silvery white with yellow and dark brown or black markings. Two species, Prognathodes dichrous and Prognathodes obliquus are mostly dark brown in color, with a white tail and dorsal fin. The dorsal fin of Prognathodes species is very high and is supported by unusually strong spines. The snout is generally longer than that of the genus Chaetodon.

System

Prognathodes is the sister group of Chaetodon and Chaetodon was previously assigned as a subgenus.

Way of life

Because they often live at depths below 100 meters, is little known of them. They feed on zooplankton.

Species

• Caribbean butterflyfish, Prognathodes aculeatus ( Poey, 1860)
• Florida butterflyfish, Prognathodes aya (Jordan, 1886)
• Hawaii butterflyfish, Prognathodes sp. " basabei " ( Undescribed species of Hawaii)
• Brazil butterflyfish, Prognathodes brasiliensis Burgess, 2001
• Prognathodes carlhubbsi Nalbant, 1995
• St. Helena butterflyfish, Prognathodes dichrous ( Günther, 1869)
• Galapagos butterflyfish, Prognathodes falcifer ( Hubbs & Rechnitz, 1958)
• Reunion butterflyfish, Prognathodes guezei ( Maugé & Bauchot, 1976)
• Guyana butterflyfish, Prognathodes guyanensis (Durand, 1960)
• Prognathodes guyotensis ( Yamamoto & Tameka, 1982)
• Prognathodes marc harboring (Poll, 1950)
• St. Paul butterflyfish, Prognathodes obliquus (Lubbock & Edwards, 1980)