''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 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 Atlant ...

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 groups. Co ...

s throughout the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

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 (plural: ''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. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

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, or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the nose of many mammals is c ...

. 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 has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutr ...

, feeding mostly on small

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

tube feet Tube feet (technically podia) are small active tubular projections on the oral face of an echinoderm, whether the arms of a starfish, or the undersides of sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers; they are more discreet though present on britt ...

echinoderm An echinoderm () is any member of the phylum Echinodermata (). The adults are recognisable by their (usually five-point) radial symmetry, and include starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the sea ...

s and

sea urchin Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...

s, and

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

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 Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...

: ''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 endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the only species of '' Erythrina'' that naturally occurs there. It is typically found in Hawaiian tropical d ...

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

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

collected a specimen (this remains part of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

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