Yellow teardrop butterflyfish

Yellow Teardrop butterflyfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Chaetodontidae
Genus:	Chaetodon
Species:	C. interruptus
Binomial name
Chaetodon interruptus C. G. E. Ahl, 1923

The Yellow teardrop butterflyfish, Chaetodon interruptus, is a butterflyfish of the family Chaetodontidae found in the Indian ocean from East Africa (south to Port Alfred, South Africa), to Sumatra, Indonesia.

Description

The teardrop butterflyfish is up to 20 cm in length and easily identified by its yellow and black colour pattern. The caudal fin is transparent. Juveniles are virtually identical to adults in coloration.

Habitat

They occur in small groups in reef flats, clear lagoon and seaward reefs, and feed on soft and hard corals, and also on polychaetes, small crustaceans, and filamentous algae. They are usually seen at moderate depths, usually swimming in small groups.

Reproduction

Reproduction is oviparous, with pairs forming during breeding. Teardrop butterflyfish are monogamous.

References

• Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2007). "Chaetodon interruptus" in FishBase. 12 2007 version.