WHATSTHATFISH
Bony fish

Longfin Bannerfish

Heniochus acuminatus

Also known as: Angelfish Pennant, Bannerfish, Black-and-White Bannerfish, Black-and-White Butterflyfish, Black-and-White Heniochus Bannerfish, Coachman, Common Bannerfish, Coralfish, False Moorish Idol, Featherfin Bullfish, Featherfin Coralfish, Heniochus Butterfly, Longfin Coachman, Pennant Bannerfish, Pennant Butterflyfish, Pennant Coralfish, Pennantfish, Reef Bannerfish, Wimplefish

LCLeast ConcernIUCN Red List, 2010
Adult
@epic · Lighthouse Bommie - Coral Sea, Australia · July 20091 / 28
01

Overview

Found in pairs, over protected channels, in lagoons, and over deep, outer reef slopes.
The snout of this banner fish is longer and the pelvic fin rounder than the schooling bannerfish.
Juveniles found singly over reefs.

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

COLOURS
Pattern
stripes
Behaviour
pairs

Tap any trait to see other fish that share it.

03

Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Indo-Pacific
  • Exact location · 9
  • Country only · 19
LIVES IN

Found in pairs, over protected channels, in lagoons, and over deep, outer reef slopes.

04

Adult photos 28

05

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. genusHeniochus
    7. speciesHeniochus acuminatus (Linnaeus, 1758)

    SourcesWoRMSFishBase

    06

    More in the family

    Butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae)