Prognathodes aya
Bank Butterflyfish
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Chaetodontidae (Butterflyfishes)
Prognathodes
Prognathodes aya (Bank Butterflyfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Deep bodied and compressed, with a long beaklike snout; dorsal profile strongly concave from snout to eye and slightly convex from eye to dorsal fin origin; jaws resemble forceps; anterior naris tubelike, posterior naris elongated; preopercular margin finely serrated, with corner produced and rounded; operculum has a broad-based spine on posterior margin; gill rakers on lower limb of first arch short and slender, numbering about 14 or 15; measurements (% SL): head length 35%–38%, snout length 14%–16%, eye diameter 9%–10%, upper jaw length 9%–10%, pectoral fin length 21%–25%, body depth 54%–58%; pectoral fin with 14 or 15 rays; dorsal fin with 13 spines and 18 rays, third, fourth, and fifth spines longer than remainder; anal fin with 3 spines and 15 or 16 rays, second and third spines about equal in length; caudal fin truncate; lateral line incomplete, forming high angular arc, with about 26 pored scales; scales form low sheath at base of dorsal fin
White to yellowish white, with a narrow black bar extending from below lower jaw through eye to dorsal fin origin and a broad black bar extending from middle of spiny section of dorsal fin to posterior section of anal fin base; bars form inverted-V-shaped pattern on body; pelvic fin, rayed section of dorsal fin, anal fin, and caudal fins often yellow
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina to Quintana Roo in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, including the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Between 20 and 167 m, associated with rocky bottoms
Rocky bottoms
Biology
Maximum known size is 150 mm SL
Inhabit deep offshore reefs (Ref. 4858). Rarely seen by divers (Ref. 4858). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Form pairs during breeding (Ref. 205).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders. Form pairs during breeding (Ref. 205).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-10-05. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Burgess 1978
Burgess 2002a
Allen 1980
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Burgess, W.E. (1978) Butterflyfishes of the world. A monograph of the Family Chaetodontidae. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Allen, G.R., R. Steene and M. Allen (1998) A guide to angelfishes and butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. 250 p.
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