Description

Blackened Butterfly Fish look like smaller versions of Angelfish, but unlike these, lack preopercle spines at the gill covers. Blackened Butterfly Fish mostly range from 4.7 to 8.7 inches in length. The largest species, the Lined Butterfly Fish and the Saddle Butterfly Fish, grow to 12 inches. The common name references the brightly colored and strikingly patterned bodies of many species, bearing shades of black, white, blue, red, orange, and yellow. Other species are dull in color.

Many Blackened Butterfly Fish have eye spots on their flanks and dark bands across their eyes, not unlike the patterns seen on butterfly wings. Their deep, laterally narrow bodies are easily noticed through the profusion of reef life. The conspicuous coloration of Butterfly Fish may be intended for inter-species communication. Blackened Butterfly Fish have uninterrupted dorsal fins with tail fins that may be rounded or truncated, but are never forked.