blackback butterflyfish
Chaetodon melannotus Bloch & Schneider, 1801
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
The black-backed butterflyfish or blackback butterflyfish (Chaetodon melannotus) is a species of ray-finned fish in the butterflyfish family Chaetodontidae. It is widespread through the Indo-Pacific, ranging from the Red Sea and East Africa to southern Japan, Micronesia and Samoa.
Wikipedia contributors, Blackback butterflyfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:59:27.799324+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Chaetodon melannotus Bloch & Schneider, 1801
- Name authority
- Bloch & Schneider, 1801
- Common name
- blackback butterflyfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Acanthuriformes
- Family
- Chaetodontidae
- Genus
- Chaetodon
- 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
- genusChaetodon Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesChaetodon melannotus Bloch & Schneider, 1801
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Chaetodon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| bluelashed butterflyfishChaetodon bennetti Cuvier, 1831 | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| threadfin butterflyfishChaetodon auriga Forsskål, 1775 | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chaetodon miliaris Quoy & Gaimard, 1825 | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pacific doublesaddle butterflyfishChaetodon ulietensis Cuvier, 1831 | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chaetodon baronessa Cuvier, 1829 | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chaetodon oxycephalus Bleeker, 1853 | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| teardrop butterflyfishChaetodon unimaculatus Bloch, 1787 | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chaetodon adiergastos Seale, 1910 | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chaetodon argentatus Smith & Radcliffe, 1911 | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chaetodon burgessi Allen & Starck, 1973 | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chaetodon citrinellus Cuvier, 1831 | ChaetodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chaetodon daedalma Jordan & Fowler, 1902 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Tetragonoptrus dorsalis (Rüppell, 1829) (Rüppell, 1829) | synonym |
| Chaetodon abhortani Cuvier, 1831 Cuvier, 1831 | synonym |
| Chaetodon melanotus Cuvier, 1831 Cuvier, 1831 | synonym |
| Chaetodon reinwardtii Günther, 1860 Günther, 1860 | synonym |
| Tetragonoptrus melanotus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) | synonym |
| Mesochaetodon strongylochaetodon melannotus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) | synonym |
| Chaetodon dorsalis Rüppell, 1829 Rüppell, 1829 | synonym |
| Chaetodon marginatus Cuvier, 1831 Cuvier, 1831 | ambiguous synonym |
| Chaetodon melanotus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | synonym |
| Chaetodon reinwardti Günther, 1860 Günther, 1860 | 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.
- Bloch, M. E., & Schneider, J. G. (1801). M.E. Blochii, Systema Ichthyologiae iconibus cx illustratum. Post obitum auctoris opus inchoatum absolvit, correxit, interpolavit Jo. Gottlob Schneider, Saxo. Berolini. Sumtibus Auctoris Impressum et Bibliopolio Sanderiano Commissum, Pp i–lx + 1–584, Pls. 1–110. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.5750 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:TBZP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.