Longnose Butterflyfish, Forcipiger longirostris (Broussonet, 1782)

Scientific name: Forcipiger longirostris
Alternative name/s:
Big Longnosed Butterflyfish, Long-bill Pipe-snouted Butterfly Fish, Very-long-nose Butterflyfish
  • Author(s)
    Mark McGrouther
  • Updated
    30/03/21
  • Read time
    2 minutes
Longnose Butterflyfish, Forcipiger longirostris Click to enlarge image
A Longnose Butterflyfish at a depth of 20m, Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, November 1998. Image: Erik Schlögl
© Erik Schlögl

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Forcipiger
    Species
    longirostris
    Family
    Chaetodontidae
    Order
    Perciformes
    Class
    Actinopterygii
    Subphylum
    Vertebrata
    Phylum
    Chordata
    Kingdom
    Animalia
  • Size Range
    The species grows to 22 cm in length.

Introduction

The Longnose Butterflyfish has a compressed body and a very long snout. The species occurs throughout the Indo-West and Central Pacific.

Identification

The Longnose Butterflyfish has a compressed body and a very long snout. It resembles the Forcepsfish, F. flavissimus, but can be distinguished by its longer snout, smaller mouth gape, number of dorsal fin spines (10-11 vs. 12-13 in the Forcepsfish) and by rows of small black spots on the breast. These spots are unusually pale in the fish in the image.

Habitat

The Longnose Butterflyfish is found on coral reefs.

Distribution

The species occurs throughout the Indo-West and Central Pacific. In Australia it is known from off north-western Western Australia and from the northern Great Barrier Reef.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

Distribution data sourced from the Atlas of Living Australia

References

  1. Allen, G.R., Steene, R. & M. Allen. 1998. A Guide to Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. Pp. 250.
  2. Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.
  3. Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
  4. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.