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Longnose Butterflyfish
Forcipiger longirostris (Broussonet, 1782)
A Longnose Butterflyfish at a depth of 20m, Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, November 1998. View larger image. View image of larva.
The Longnose Butterflyfish has a compressed (glossary) body and a very long snout.
It resembles the Forcepsfish F.flavissimus (view fact sheet) but can be distinguished by its longer snout, smaller mouth gape, number of dorsal fin spines (10-11 vs. 12-13 in the Forcepsfish) and by rows of small black spots on the breast. These spots are unusually pale in the fish in the image.
The Longnose Butterflyfish grows to 22cm in length.
This species is found on coral reefs of the Indo-West and Central Pacific.
In Australia it is known from off north-western Western Australia and from the northern Great Barrier Reef.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R., Steene, R. & M. Allen. 1998. A Guide to Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. Pp. 250.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
