TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Order: Perciformes (Perch-likes)
Family: Chaetodontidae (Butterflyfishes)
Genus/species: Prognathodes aculeatus
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS: Upper half of body yellow-orange, shading into blackish basally in dorsal fin; lower half of body white; orange bands on head and a narrow orange bar on caudal peduncle. Average of 2 to 3 inches long.
DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Found on natural and artificial reefs, usually 30 to 200 ft in-depth, off Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico, in the Caribbean Sea, and off the coast of Venezuela.
DIET IN THE WILD: Bristleworms, crustaceans, black coral polyps, sea urchin pedicellaria. Also known to eat the tube feet of sea urchins and tube worm tentacles.
REPRODUCTION: Oviparous
CONSERVATION: IUCN, Least Concern (LC)
REMARKS: When threatened, this butterflyfish erects its dorsal spines and points them at the threat.
References
California Academy of Sciences Steinhart Aquarium, Caribbean Reef 2016
Ron’s flickr www.flickr.com/photos/cas_docents/sets/72157625119200613/…
Ron’s WordPress shortlink wp.me/p1DZ4b-No
fishbase fishbase.us/summary/Prognathodes-aculeatus.html
reefguide.org/carib/longsnoutbutter.html
Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico, Volume 2: Scorpaeniformes to Tetraodontiformes
By John D. McEachran, Janice D. Fechhelm
Caribbean Reef PR36