butterfly flyingfish
Cheilopogon papilio (Clark, 1936)
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
Cheilopogon papilio, the butterfly flyingfish, is a species of ray-finned fish within the family Exocoetidae, distributed in the eastern Pacific off the coasts of Mexico in Baja California and the Revillagigedos Islands, as well as some areas off Costa Rica and Panama. Other common names of the species include the exocet papillon in French and volador mariposa in Spanish.
Wikipedia contributors, Cheilopogon papilio; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:46:42.983176+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cheilopogon papilio (Clark, 1936)
- Name authority
- (Clark, 1936)
- Common name
- butterfly flyingfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Beloniformes
- Family
- Exocoetidae
- Genus
- Cheilopogon
- 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
- orderBeloniformes
- familyExocoetidae Risso, 1827
- genusCheilopogon Lowe, 1841
- speciesCheilopogon papilio (Clark, 1936)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cheilopogon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| blackspot flyingfishCheilopogon dorsomacula (Fowler, 1944) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cheilopogon intermedius Parin, 1961 | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cheilopogon olgae Parin, 2009 | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cheilopogon katoptron (Bleeker, 1865) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| marginated flyingfishCheilopogon cyanopterus (Valenciennes, 1847) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cheilopogon abei Parin, 1996 | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bennett's flying fishCheilopogon pinnatibarbatus (Bennett, 1831) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cheilopogon agoo (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Atlantic flyingfishCheilopogon melanurus (Valenciennes, 1847) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cheilopogon pitcairnensis (Nichols & Breder, 1935) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cheilopogon californicus (Cooper, 1863) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cheilopogon doederleinii (Steindachner, 1887) | ExocoetidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Parexocoetus papilio Clark, 1936 Clark, 1936 | 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=272159 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:5XRK9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.