Fish Identification: Spotfin Butterfly Fish

Video Transcript

"the marine organism we're going to identify now is the Spotfin Butterflyfish. The Spotfin Butterflyfish is one of the five most common Butterflyfish species, one we'll see while snorkeling and diving around the waters of Florida, the Bahamas and most of the Caribbean. It is disc-shaped with the majority of its body a white to bluish white color. All of its fins are yellow except for its pectoral fins, which are either clear or white in color. The Spotfin Butterflyfish like most Butterflyfish has a dark vertical bar running from the top of it's body to the bottom, right across it's eye, thereby concealing it. The marking that gives this fish its name however is the dark spot on the outer edge of the rear of the dorsal fin. This dark spot can be quite small, merely a dot, or the size of a small coin. The larger the spot, generally the grayer it becomes. Most have a small black dot. This coloration pattern makes it difficult for predators to know which is the front and which is the back of the fish. Spotfin Butterflyfish range in size from three to eight inches in length with most in the three to six inch range. They are commonly seen in pair, especially during the breeding season in the spring and the pairs are thought to bond and stay together for long periods of time. They swim over the top of coral reefs at depths generally less than sixty feet. In fact they can be frequently seen around shallow reefs so even snorkelers can enjoy viewing this fish. As one might guess, based on the small size of their mouth, Spotfin Butterflyfish feed primarily on coral poylups and other small creatures such as juvenile shrimp and lobsters. They also enjoy snacking on the worms that can be found in the tropical waters they inhabit. Spotfin Butterflyfish are pelagic spawner's. This means that the male and female release their sperm and eggs into the water column in close proximity to one another, where the eggs become fertilized. The eggs are buoyant, so they float to the surface where they drift as part of the marine plankton pool until the fry are hatched. Post larval Spotfin Butterflyfish go through a stage where their body's covered with large bony plates starting at their head. These bony plates are eventually replaced with scales. That's the Spotfin Butterflyfish."