WHATSTHATFISH
Bony fish

Black-nosed Butterflyfish

Johnrandallia nigrirostris

Also known as: Barberfish, Barber Butterflyfish, Blacknose Butterflyfish, Butterfly Barber, Coralfish

LCLeast ConcernIUCN Red List, 2010
Adult
@eksmp · San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua · December 20131 / 1
01

Overview

Found in pairs and large schools, over coral and rocky reefs rich in coral growth.
They feed on algae, small crustaceans, gastropods and parasites from other fish.

Butterflyfishes have very fine hair like teeth that enable them to pick out small organisms inaccessible to most other fish for eating.
They thrive mainly on a diet of coral polyps, tentacles of featherdusters and Christmas-tree worms. As these food sources all zap back into their shells, butterflyfishes need to be able to hover motionless while picking at the coral and to dart swiftly over short distances to get the worm before it retracts. They do this by using their Pectoral fins as oars to brake, sprint, turn and even reverse.

02

How to identify

Head & Mouth
black eyes

Tap any trait to see other fish that share it.

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Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Eastern Pacific
  • Country only · 1
LIVES IN

Found in pairs and large schools, over coral and rocky reefs rich in coral growth.

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Adult photos 1

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Discussion

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    ALL STAGES
    FOR THE MARINE-BIOLOGY CURIOUS

    Deep dive

    Taxonomy

    1. kingdomAnimalia
    2. phylumChordata
    3. classTeleostei
    4. orderAcanthuriformes
    5. familyChaetodontidae
    6. genusJohnrandallia
    7. speciesJohnrandallia nigrirostris (Gill, 1862)

    SourcesWoRMSFishBase

    06

    More in the family

    Butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae)