Hemitaurichthys thompsoni

Hemitaurichthys thompsoni, Thompson's butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean.

Hemitaurichthys thompsoni
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Chaetodontidae
Genus: Hemitaurichthys
Species:
H. thompsoni
Binomial name
Hemitaurichthys thompsoni
Fowler, 1923[2]

Description

Hemitaurichthys thompsoniis a medium-sized butterflyfish, the body is uniformly bluish grey in colour and it has the typical short snout and compressed body of species within the genus Hemitaurichthys.[3] The dorsal fin contains 12 spines and 25-17 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 20-21 soft rays. This fish ayyains a maximum total length of 16 centimetres (6.3 in).[2]

Distribution

Hemitaurichthys thompsoni is found throughout most of Oceania, from the Bonin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Taongi and Wake Atolls, southwards through Polynesia from the Hawaii and Johnston Island to Samoa, the Cook, Society and Tuamotu Islands. It may be more widely distributed.[1]

Habitat and biology

Hemitaurichthys thompsoni occurs on coral reefs where it is usually observed on the outer-reef, the fore-reef slopes and at drop-offs. It can be found at depths between [{convert|4|and|300|m|ft}}.[1] It aggregates in schools high in the water column. It is an omnivorous species which feeds on plankton, although they mostly feed on zooplankton, particularly copepods. They will also feed on coral.[3] It is an oviparous species and the male and female form pairs when breeding.[2]

Taxonomy and etymology

Hemitaurichthys thompsoni was first formally described in 1923 by the American ichthyologist Henry Weed Fowler (1878-1965) with the type locality given as Honululu Fish Market.[4] The specific name honours the artist and modeller John W. Thompson who worked at the Bishop Museum in Honululu between 1901 and 1928 and who purchased the type and brought it to the Museum.[5][6] This species has been known to hybridise with the pyramid butterflyfish (H. polylepis) in Hawaii.[7]

Utilisation

Hemitaurichthys thompsoni is collected for the aquarium trade on a limited basis.[1] However, its rather plain and relatively dull colouration mean that it is not as popular as related species of butterflyfish.[8]

References
  1. Allen, G.R.; Fricke, R.; Myers, R. & Pratchett, M. (2010). "Hemitaurichthys thompsoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T154788A4633577. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T154788A4633577.en. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Hemitaurichthys thompsoni" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. "Hemitaurichthys thompsoni". De Jong Marine Life. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  4. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Hemitaurichthys thompsoni". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  5. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (21 July 2020). "Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 1): Families LOBOTIDAE, POMACANTHIDAE, DREPANEIDAE and CHAETODONTIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  6. Margaret Titcomb (1972). Native Use of Fish in Hawaii. Memoirs of Polynesian Society. 29. University of Hawaii Press. p. 53. ISBN 0824805925.
  7. "HYBRID! OF PYRAMID AND THOMPSON'S BUTTERFLIES!". Kohala Divers. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  8. "Hemitaurichthys thompsoni". Saltcorner. Bob Goemans. 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
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