''Forcipiger longirostris'', commonly known as the longnose butterflyfish or big longnose butterflyfish, is a species of

butterflyfish The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical ocean, marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. The approximately 129 species in 12 genera are found mostly on the reefs of the ...

found on

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

s throughout the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

waters of the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

. Even with its distinctive, point-like long nose, the longnose butterflyfish still can easily be confused with its more common cousin '' F. flavissimus''. Both species may be kept in

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

Description

''F. longirostris'' has a compressed yellow body with a black triangular region on its head, and as the name implies, a long, silvery

snout A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, Rostrum (anatomy), rostrum, beak or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the n ...

. Usually 10 or 11 dorsal spines, a black spot on the anal fin, and rows of small black spots on the breast are found. The fish grows to about in length. In comparison, ''F. flavissimus'' has more dorsal spines, lacks the black spots, and its operculum is more curved. Rarely, ''F. longirostris'' can be found in an all-black form, as well, or the yellow portion may be brown.

Behavior

''F. longirostris'' is a diurnal

omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize t ...

, feeding mostly on small

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

tube feet Tube or tubes may refer to: * Tube (2003 film), ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM#Tubes, Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a Japanese rock band * Tube & Berger, the alias of dance/e ...

echinoderm An echinoderm () is any animal of the phylum Echinodermata (), which includes starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers, as well as the sessile sea lilies or "stone lilies". While bilaterally symmetrical as ...

s and

sea urchin Sea urchins or urchins () are echinoderms in the class (biology), class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal zone to deep seas of . They typically have a globular body cove ...

s, and

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine Annelid, annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called c ...

tentacles. Like other butterflyfish species, longnose butterflyfish mate for life.

Nomenclature

''F. longirostris'', together with ''F. flavissimus'', is known for having the longest fish name in the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...

: ''lauwiliwilinukunukuʻoiʻoi'', or "long-snouted (sharp-beaked) fish shaped like a ''

wiliwili Wiliwili (''Erythrina sandwicensis'') is a species of tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is Endemism, endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the only species of ''Erythrina'' that Indigenous (ecology), naturally occurs there. It is typically ...

'' leaf". It was the first Hawaiian fish to receive a scientific name, when Captain

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

collected a specimen (this remains part of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

collection).

References

External links

* * Photos o
Forcipiger longirostris
in iNaturalist {{Taxonbar, from=Q1647628 longirostris Fish of Hawaii Fish of Palau Fish described in 1782 Taxa named by Pierre Marie Auguste Broussonet