Longnose Butterflyfish, Forcipiger longirostris (Broussonet, 1782)
Big Longnosed Butterflyfish, Long-bill Pipe-snouted Butterfly Fish, Very-long-nose Butterflyfish
Click to enlarge image
© Erik Schlögl
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Forcipiger
- Species
- longirostris
- Family
- Chaetodontidae
- Order
- Perciformes
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Subphylum
- Vertebrata
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- The species grows to 22 cm in length.
Introduction
The Longnose Butterflyfish has a compressed body and a very long snout. The species occurs throughout the Indo-West and Central Pacific.
Identification
The Longnose Butterflyfish has a compressed body and a very long snout. It resembles the Forcepsfish, F. flavissimus, but can be distinguished by its longer snout, smaller mouth gape, number of dorsal fin spines (10-11 vs. 12-13 in the Forcepsfish) and by rows of small black spots on the breast. These spots are unusually pale in the fish in the image.
Habitat
The Longnose Butterflyfish is found on coral reefs.
Distribution
The species occurs throughout the Indo-West and Central Pacific. In Australia it is known from off north-western Western Australia and from the northern Great Barrier Reef.
The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.
References
- Allen, G.R., Steene, R. & M. Allen. 1998. A Guide to Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. Pp. 250.
- Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
