Chaetodon melapterus

Chaetodon melapterus, the Arabian butterflyfish, blackfin butterflyfish or black-finned melon butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the butterflyfish family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the northwestern Indian Ocean.

Save for the posterior edge, which is black, the body of Chaetodon melapterus is totally bright yellow. The dorsal, anal and caudal fins are also deep black. There are three vertical, black bands on the face, one on the snout around the mouth, one through the eye and one just behind the eye.^[3] The dorsal fin contains 13 spines and 19–21 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 18–19 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of 13 cm (5.1 in).^[2]

Chaetodon melapterus is found in the northwestern Indian Ocean, including the Persian Gulf, the southern coasts of the Arabian Peninsula (from the Gulf of Oman to the Gulf of Aden) and the southern part of the Red Sea.^[1]

Chaetodon melapterus is found in shallow coastal reefs (at between 2 and 16 metres (7 and 52 ft)^[1]), and prefers areas with rich coral growth. This species lives in pairs, but there have been occasional records of aggregations. It is an obligate corallivore, feeding exclusively on polyps. It is an oviparous species which forms pairs to breed.^[2]

Chaetodon melapterus fue descrito formalmente por primera vez en 1863 por el zoólogo francés Alphonse Guichenot, con la localidad tipo indicada como Reunión , ^{[ 4 ]} aunque es probable que esto sea un error, ya que la especie no ha sido registrada en las Mascareñas . ^{[ 2 ]} Esta especie, junto con el pez mariposa de cola negra ( C. austriacus ), el pez mariposa melón ( C. trifasciatus ) y el pez mariposa oval ( C. lunulatus ), conforma el subgénero Corallochaetodon . Este grupo probablemente esté bastante relacionado con el subgénero "Citharoedus" (el nombre es un homónimo menor de un género de molusco ), que (entre algunas otras especies) contiene el pez mariposa rayado ( C. meyeri ). Estos subgéneros podrían trasladarse a Megaprotodon si Chaetodon se dividiera. ^{[ 5 ] [ 6 ]}

Chaetodon melapterus no es apto para mantenerse en acuarios debido a su dieta especializada en corales. A pesar de esto, aparece ocasionalmente en el comercio. ^{[ 1 ]}