The Red Sea bannerfish (''Heniochus intermedius'') is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

, a

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 ...

from the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Chaetodontidae. It is found in the western Indian Ocean. It has been recorded as an introduced species off

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and as a Lessepsian migrant in the eastern

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

off Turkey.

Description

The Red Sea bannerfish has a deeply compressed body which is coloured pale yellow fading to white on the beck towards the head. There are 2 wide, angled oblique vertical blackish bands, these are darker below and become more diffuse towards the back. The forward band starts at the origin of the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

, adjacent to or over the eye and runs to the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

. The rear band starts at the spiny part of the dorsal fin and runs to rear part of the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

. The

pectoral Pectoral may refer to: * The chest region and anything relating to it. * Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest * a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget * Pectoral (Ancient Egypt), a type of jewelry worn in ancient Egypt * Pectora ...

, the soft part of the dorsal and anal fins and the

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

are yellow, while the pelvic fins are black. It has a very elongated white filament extending from the anterior part of the

dorsal filament which moves while the fish is swimming, resembling a banner being blown in the wind. The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 25-26 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 17-18 soft rays. This species attains as maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...

of .

Distribution

The Red Sea bannerfish is native to the western Indian Ocean where it is found in the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

and the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

. It has been introduced to the waters off south eastern Florida, probably by means of escapes or releases from the

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 ...

or trade. Recently recorded in the

Gulf of Antalya The Gulf of Antalya () is a large bay of the northern Levantine Sea, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea south of Antalya Province, Turkey. It includes some of the main seaside resorts of Turkey, also known as the "Turkish Riviera". References ...

on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey following a likely introduction via the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

from the Red Sea, it remains very rare.Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea (''Heniochus intermedius''). 2nd Edition. 2021. 366p. CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monaco.https://ciesm.org/atlas/fishes_2nd_edition/Heniochus_intermedius.pdf

Habitat and biology

The Red Sea bannerfish is associated with coral reefs where it is most frequently recorded as a solitary fish or in pairs, although large schools have been recorded. The juveniles form large schools, particularly in areas of deep reef where there is a low density of corals. They feed on both

zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...

and benthic invertebrates but the extent to which they feed on live coral has still to be determined. It is an

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

species which forms

monogamous Monogamy ( ) is a relationship of two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or serial monogamy, contrasts with various forms of non-monogamy (e.g. ...

pairs for

spawning Spawn is the Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...

Utilisation

The Red Sea bannerfish is collected for the aquarium trade but its collection is of a limited scale and is not believed to be a threat to the species population.

Gallery

Peces estandarte del mar Rojo (Heniochus intermedius), mar Rojo, Egipto, 2023-04-16, DD 43.jpg, Pez estandarte del mar Rojo (Heniochus intermedius), parque nacional Ras Muhammad, Egipto, 2022-03-28, DD 129.jpg, Heniochus intermedius by Michal Mikula.jpg, Pez estandarte del mar Rojo (Heniochus intermedius), parque nacional Ras Muhammad, Egipto, 2022-03-26, DD 162.jpg,

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1756911 Red Sea bannerfish Fish of the Red Sea Taxa named by Franz Steindachner Red Sea bannerfish Endemic fish of the Red sea