scythe butterflyfish
Prognathodes falcifer (Hubbs & Rechnitzer, 1958)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Prognathodes falcifer, the northern scythemarked butterflyfish or northern scythe butterflyfish, is a species of butterflyfish found at rocky reefs in the tropical Eastern Pacific, where found at depths of 3–270 metres (9.8–885.8 ft) off southern California (La Jolla and Santa Catalina Island), southern Baja California, Guadalupe Island, San Benito Island and Revillagigedo Islands. In the past it also included populations off Central and South America, but in 1995 these were described as a separate species, P. carlhubbsi. Compared to that species, P. falcifer has whitish-grey (not clear yellow) belly and flanks, the black line through the eye is paler and less distinct, and the angle of the inverted black "V" on the side is shallower. It can be found in captivity on rare cases.
Wikipedia contributors, Prognathodes falcifer; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:47:15.336251+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Prognathodes falcifer (Hubbs & Rechnitzer, 1958)
- Name authority
- (Hubbs & Rechnitzer, 1958)
- Common name
- scythe butterflyfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Acanthuriformes
- Family
- Chaetodontidae
- Genus
- Prognathodes
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderAcanthuriformes
- familyChaetodontidae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusPrognathodes Gill, 1862
- speciesPrognathodes falcifer (Hubbs & Rechnitzer, 1958)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Prognathodes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| longsnout butterflyfishPrognathodes aculeatus (Poey, 1860) | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| bank butterflyfishPrognathodes aya (Jordan, 1886) | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Prognathodes basabei Pyle & Kosaki, 2016 | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Prognathodes brasiliensis Burgess, 2001 | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Prognathodes guezei (Maugé & Bauchot, 1976) | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Prognathodes guyotensis (Yamamoto & Tameka, 1982) | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Prognathodes dichrous (Günther, 1869) | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Guyana butterflyfishPrognathodes guyanensis (Durand, 1960) | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Prognathodes marcellae (Poll, 1950) | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Prognathodes obliquus (Lubbock & Edwards, 1980) | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Chaetodon falcifer Hubbs & Rechnitzer, 1958 Hubbs & Rechnitzer, 1958 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=273374 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4MQYW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.