This #SundayFishSketch comes from Ichthyologist, Rene Martin. Visit her shop on InPrint to see more of her artwork or to order prints!

Butterflyfish area group of around 120 species in the Family Chaetodontidae. The one in this weeks #SundayFishSketch is the Copperband butterflyfish.

Butterfly fish can be found in reefs around the world in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Butterfly fish are probably most recognizable for their disk-like body shape, pointed snout, and the striking patterns and coloration seen across most species in stark contrast with the blue ocean background. Many are striped with bold bands or circles around their eyes. Many have spots on the back of their top fin resembling the eyes of a much larger fish—much like what is seen in many butterflies or moths. Despite the vividness of their appearance, their bodies are equipped with perfect camouflage for life on the reef, though their appearance doubles as a communication method with other fish—similar to birds.

Coral reefs are bustling underwater metropolises—deeply intricate and interconnected—and everybody has a role to play. Butterfly fish are omnivorous and use their thin snouts to reach the hard-to-reach, spending their time searching through coral and rock for tiny invertebrates, worms, polyps, and sea anemones.

Butterflyfish can be either social—living in schools—or solitary. In both settings, they tend to form lifelong-pairs and establish a strongly held territory on a section of the reef that allows them to retreat into crevices during the night for safety.

This #SundayFishSketch comes from Ichthyologist, Rene Martin. Visit her shop on InPrint to see more of her artwork or to order prints!