Chaetodon zanzibarensis Playfair, 1867
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
Chaetodon zanzibarensis, the Zanzibar butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It has a wide distribution throughout the western Indian Ocean stretching from the eastern coast of Africa to Madagascar, the Seychelles, Réunion and Mauritius. Its named after the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar
Wikipedia contributors, Chaetodon zanzibarensis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:16:36.644491+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Chaetodon zanzibarensis Playfair, 1867
- Name authority
- Playfair, 1867
- 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 zanzibarensis Playfair, 1867
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 |
|---|---|
| Chaetodon zanzibariensis Playfair, 1867 Playfair, 1867 | 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.
- Playfair, R. L., & Günther, A. (1867). The fishes of Zanzibar, with a list of the fishes of the whole east coast of Africa. London., i–xiv + 1–153, Pls. 1–21. 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:TC6W. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.