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Chaetodon mertensii Cuvier, 1831

Atoll butterflyfish
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Chaetodon mertensii   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Chaetodon mertensii (Atoll butterflyfish)
Chaetodon mertensii
Picture by Randall, J.E.

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).
Eponymy: Karl Heinrich Mertens (1796–1830) was a German botanist, naturalist and explorer. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Cuvier.

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

Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 0 - 120 m (Ref. 1602). Tropical; 30°N - 33°S

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

Pacific Ocean: Ryukyu Islands to the Philippines and extending to Lord Howe, Rapa and Tuamoto islands. Replaced by Chaetodon madagascariensis in the Indian Ocean, Chaetodon xanthurus in southeast Asia, and Chaetodon paucifasciatus in the Red Sea (Ref. 37816).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 12.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4859)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 12 - 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 21 - 23; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 16 - 17. Body color is white with 4-5 chevron-shaped blackish bands on the sides. The posterior portion of the trunk, the adjacent dorsal and anal fins, and the posterior portion of the caudal fin are yellow. A vertical black bar runs (uninterrupted) across the eye (Ref. 4855). Snout length 2.3-3.0 in HL. Body depth 1.7-1.8 in SL (Ref. 90102).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabit deep lagoons and seaward reefs. Occur singly or in pairs. Feed on algae and small benthic invertebrates (Ref. 1602). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Form pairs during breeding (Ref. 205). May hybridize with C. xanthurus. Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Distinct pairing (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Myers, R.F., 1991. Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p. (Ref. 1602)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)

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

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
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Length-weight rel.
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References

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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 | National databases | 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): 23.7 - 28.4, mean 26.8 °C (based on 202 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02239 (0.01426 - 0.03516), b=3.24 (3.11 - 3.37), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.0   ±0.41 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 = 125 [63, 193] mg/100g; Iron = 0.954 [0.566, 1.634] mg/100g; Protein = 18.4 [17.2, 19.6] %; Omega3 = 0.135 [0.077, 0.235] g/100g; Selenium = 45.7 [23.5, 87.5] μg/100g; VitaminA = 44.8 [12.0, 164.6] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.68 [1.13, 2.46] mg/100g (wet weight);