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  • EnglishName: Blackpyramid butterflyfish
  • Local Name : Oimathi bibee
  • Size : Max. 18 cm
  • Family: CHAETODONTIDAE
  • Order : Perciformes
  • Distinctive Characters: Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 24-26 rays. Anal fin with 3 spines and 20-21 rays. Pectoral fin with 17 rays. Body depth 1.5 in standard length.
  • Colour: Dark brown with broad white area in middle of the body. Dorsal spines over white area are yellow. Caudal fin mostly white.
  • Habitat and Biology: Commonly found at depths 1-35 m. Usually seen in large schools. Feeds on zooplankton well above the corals, to which it retreats at the approach of danger.
  • Distribution: Western Indian Ocean.
  • Remarks: Hemitaurichthys zoster is very common in the Maldives. It is unusual for a butterflyfish in that it feeds mainly on plankton, and presumably for this reason has adopted a schooling mode of life unlike most of the butterflyfishes.