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Chaetodon xanthocephalus Bennett, 1833

Yellowhead butterflyfish
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Chaetodon xanthocephalus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Chaetodon xanthocephalus (Yellowhead butterflyfish)
Chaetodon xanthocephalus
Picture by Rusconi, G.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Acanthuriformes (Surgeonfishes) > Chaetodontidae (Butterflyfishes)
Etymology: Chaetodon: Greek, chaite = hair + Greek, odous = teeth (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bennett.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 30 m. Tropical; - 30°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Indian Ocean: East Africa (Ref. 33390) to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5372)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 13 - 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 21 - 26; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 21 - 23.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Hybrids with C. ephippium known. Usually solitary (Ref. 48636), but may form loose shoals of 5-6 individuals and usually found around isolated coral heads. Territorial and aggressive to other chaetodonts; omnivorous (Ref. 5503). Oviparous (Ref. 205), monogamous (Ref. 52884). Form pairs during breeding (Ref. 205).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Distinct pairing (Ref. 205). Monogamous mating is observed as both obligate and social (Ref. 52884).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Heemstra, P.C., 1986. Chaetodontidae. p. 627-632. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. (Ref. 5372)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 09 October 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
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Ecology
Ecology
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Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 25.9 - 29.3, mean 28.2 °C (based on 852 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02291 (0.01133 - 0.04632), b=3.00 (2.83 - 3.17), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.7   ±0.24 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 93.4 [48.7, 143.7] mg/100g; Iron = 0.793 [0.481, 1.277] mg/100g; Protein = 18.4 [17.3, 19.5] %; Omega3 = 0.106 [0.067, 0.167] g/100g; Selenium = 33 [19, 61] μg/100g; VitaminA = 44 [13, 151] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.51 [1.04, 2.15] mg/100g (wet weight);