Species of fish
Hemitaurichthys zoster, commonly known as the brown-and-white butterflyfish, black pyramid butterflyfish, zoster butterflyfish, or brushtooth butterflyfish, is a marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae native to the Indian Ocean.
Description
The black pyramid butterflyfish is a small-sized fish that can reach a maximum length of 18 cm.[3][4]
Its body is compressed laterally with a rounded body profile. The snout is somewhat stretched with a small terminal protractile mouth. The body is black, crossed in its center by a broad white trapezoid band with a yellow top, corresponding to the center of the dorsal fin. The caudal fin is white.[5]
Distribution & ecology
Hemitaurichthys zoster is widespread throughout tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian Ocean from the eastern coast of Africa to Java in Indonesia and from India to Mauritius.[1][3]
It lives in large schools on outer reef slopes, from which it can sally into open water to feed on plankton.[6] The species is found at depths of 3–40 meters.[7][8]
Taxonomy and etymology
Hemitaurichthys zoster was first formally described as Chaetodon zoster in 1831 by the English zoologist Edward Turner Bennett (1797–1837) with the type locality given as Mauritius.[9] The specific name zoster means "belt" or "girdle" and is presumed to refer to the wide, white band in the middle of this fish's body.[10]
Utilisation
Hemitaurichthys zoster is rare in the aquarium trade.[1]
Conservation status
Hemitaurichthys zoster is a planktivore, and the species may be affected by climate-induced reductions in planktonic productivity. As there do not appear to be any specific current threats, it is listed as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN.[1]
