Fun Scrawled Butterflyfish Facts For Kids
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The scrawled butterflyfish (Chaetodon meyeri), also called the maypole butterflyfish, Meyer's coralfish, and Meyer's butterflyfish, is a ray-finned fish of the family Chaetodontidae. This fish belongs to the subgenus Citharoedus in the genus Chaetodon.
The scrawled butterflyfish has a bluish-white or whitish body with black bars. They feed exclusively on coral polyps and occupy a range rich in corals around clear lagoons and seawood regions.
Marcus Elieser Bloch, a German naturalist, and Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider first described this fish in 1801 and it was discovered around Ambon Island, Indonesia.
Bloch and Schneider did not provide the identity of the person that this fish was named after. It is, however, believed that Meyer is Johan Frederik Meiher, a bookkeeper on Ambon Island.
In the genus Chaetodon, there are around 90 recognized species and are called butterflyfish. The butterflyfish species of the family Chaetodontidae are also called coral fish and banner fish. 12 genera in this family consist of 129 fish species.
If you enjoyed these facts, then make sure to check out rainbow cichlid and longhorn cowfish facts on Kidadl.
Scrawled Butterflyfish Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a scrawled butterflyfish?
The scrawled butterflyfish (Chaetodon meyeri) is a marine ray-finned fish of the order Perciformes and phylum Chordata. This fish is not reef safe and hides between live rocks. Like other species of the family Chaetodontidae, the maypole butterflyfish is also a popular aquarium fish. This fish species feed exclusively on coral polyps.
What class of animal does a scrawled butterflyfish belong to?
The scrawled butterflyfish (Chaetodon meyeri) belongs to the class of Actinopterygii of animals.
How many scrawled butterflyfish are there in the world?
The population number of scrawled butterflyfish (Chaetodon meyeri) around the world is not known.
Where does a scrawled butterflyfish live?
Scrawled butterflyfish (Chaetodon meyeri) populations are spread across the Indo-Pacific regions.
This fish occupies a range in the eastern coast of Africa from Somalia to Durban throughout the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean extending to the east to the Line Islands and Hawaii. The population range also extends south to the Great Barrier Reef, Tonga, and New Caledonia and north to the Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
Outside the normal range, this fish population has been recorded in the eastern Pacific Ocean in Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, and Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico.
What is a scrawled butterflyfish's habitat?
The range of the scrawled butterflyfish habitat extends to regions with high coral in seaweed reefs and clear lagoons. They can be found at depths of about 6.6-82 ft (2-25 m).
Who does the scrawled butterflyfish live with?
Scrawled butterflyfish (Chaetodon meyeri) live on their own or in pairs.
How long does a scrawled butterflyfish live?
The lifespan of the scrawled butterflyfish (Chaetodon meyeri) is not known. However, butterflyfish usually live for 8-10 years.
How do they reproduce?
The maypole butterflyfish (Chaetodon meyeri) is also a pelagic spawner like all other butterflyfishes. The pair live together throughout the spawning season.
The female releases many eggs, which then become plankton and float with the water current until they hatch. The young fry go through a phase where the body is covered in large bony plates that extend from the head. As they grow, the larvae lose their bony plates.
What is their conservation status?
The conservation status of the maypole butterflyfish is evaluated as Least Concern.
Scrawled Butterflyfish Fun Facts
What do scrawled butterflyfish look like?
The scrawled butterflyfish, or Meyer's butterflyfish, has a blue-white or whitish body scrawled with diagonal and curved black bars on their flanks and the curve of the curved bars towards the rear. Around their mouth, on the snout, and through their eyes runs a black bar with a yellow edge.
There are 23-25 soft rays and 12-13 spines in their dorsal fin and 18-20 soft rays and three spines in their anal spines.
* Please note that this is an image of a copperband butterflyfish. If you have an image of a scrawled butterflyfish please let us know at hello@kidadl.com.
How cute are they?
The Meyer's butterflyfish has a shiny body and is considered rather beautiful.
How do they communicate?
Meyer's butterflyfish communicate using vision and chemical release.
How big is a scrawled butterflyfish?
The scrawled butterflyfish size range is 7.9 in (20 cm) length. This is almost the same length as the ornate butterflyfish species, which can grow up to 7 in (18 cm) The largest of the butterflyfish species, like the saddle butterflyfish and lined butterflyfish, can grow up to a length of 12 in (30 cm).
How fast can a scrawled butterflyfish swim?
The swimming speed of the scrawled butterflyfish (Meyer's butterflyfish) is not known.
How much does a scrawled butterflyfish weigh?
The weight of the scrawled butterflyfish (Meyer's butterflyfish) is not known. The green sunfish of the same suborder can weigh up to 2.1 lb (952.5 g).
What are the male and female names of the species?
There is no specific name given to the male and female Meyer's coralfish
What would you call a baby scrawled butterflyfish?
There is no specific name given to a baby Meyer's coralfish.
What do they eat?
The diet of the Meyer's butterflyfish species is omnivorous. However, they feed exclusively on coral polyps. Their diet also includes tubeworms, bristle worms, and other small invertebrates.
Are they aggressive?
The Meyer's coralfish species consists of peaceful fishes but they can be aggressive to their own kind.
Would they make a good pet?
The scrawled butterflyfish (Meyer's butterflyfish) would make a good pet in an aquarium if they can be exclusively fed coral polyps as they prefer this diet to worms.
Did you know...
A unique characteristic of butterflyfishes is their long nose which helps them to reach their food in crevices.
These fishes have many predators like sharks, eels, sea snakes, and other reef fishes.
How did the scrawled butterflyfish get its name?
Marcus Elieser Bloch, a German naturalist, and Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider first described this fish in 1801 and it was first discovered around Ambon Island, Indonesia. Bloch and Schneider did not provide the identity of the person that inspired the name Meyer's butterflyfish.
However, this type of specimen was mention in the Museo Meyeri Lugduni Batavorum or Meyer's Museum collection in Leiden, Netherlands. As for their specific scientific name, 'scrawled' refers to their 'scribbled patterns'.
How to identify scrawled butterflyfish?
Chaetodon meyeri can grow up to 7.9 in (20 cm) in length. You can identify them by their blue-white or whitish body scrawled with diagonal and curved black bars on their flanks and the curve of the curved bars towards the rear.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these codfish facts and wolffish facts for kids.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring on one of our free printable butterfly fish coloring pages.
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Bachelor of Engineering specializing in Aeronautical/Aerospace Technology, Master of Business Administration specializing in Management
Arpitha RajendraBachelor of Engineering specializing in Aeronautical/Aerospace Technology, Master of Business Administration specializing in Management
With a background in Aeronautical Engineering and practical experience in various technical areas, Arpitha is a valuable member of the Kidadl content writing team. She did her Bachelor's degree in Engineering, specializing in Aeronautical Engineering, at Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology in 2020. Arpitha has honed her skills through her work with leading companies in Bangalore, where she contributed to several noteworthy projects, including the development of high-performance aircraft using morphing technology and the analysis of crack propagation using Abaqus XFEM.
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