Prognathodes aya

Prognathodes aya
Bank Butterflyfish – Prognathodes aya Photo Credit: NOAA Fisheries, Pascagoula Lab
FamilyScientific NameAuthorYearCommon Name
ChaetodontidaePrognathodes aya(Jordan)1886Bank Butterflyfish

Prognathodes aya

Unique Characters: Body golden or yellow above, white below. Dorsal fin mostly brown. Snout moderately long, 2.1 to 2.3 in head length; eyeband orange in life, bordered with dark lines, passing forward below eye, ending on upper portion of snout; body without dark bars or spots.

Similar Species:

Longsnout Butterflyfish Prognathodes aculeatus

Guyana Butterflyfish Prognathodes guyanensis

Longsnout Butterflyfish Prognathodes aculeatus. Body golden or yellow above, white below. Dorsal fin mostly brown. Snout moderately long, 2.1 to 2.3 in head length; eyeband orange in life, bordered with dark lines, passing forward below eye, ending on upper portion of snout; body without dark bars or spots.

Guyana Butterflyfish Prognathodes guyanensis. Strong, dark blackish eyebands edged in light yellow extending from first 2 dorsal-fin spines to eye. Bands continue as weak stripes downward and forward below eye toward isthmus. Interorbital stripe present. Dark band extending from middle dorsal-fin spines backward across body to posterior anal-fin rays, extending through dorsal fin from posterior spines to upper portion of caudal peduncle. Snout shorter, more than 2.4 in head length. Eyeband blackish, not extending forward and ending on upper portion of snout.

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