Checked Swallowtail, Odontanthias borbonius (Valenciennes 1828)
A Checked swallowtail, Odontanthias borbonius, on the Izu Peninsula, Japan, August 2013. Source: Izuzuki / http://www.izuzuki.com/. License: CC BY Attribution-ShareAlike
Summary:
A pink to reddish anthiine with 9-11 large brown or yellow blotches on the side (larger than the eye), and a broad bright yellow band running below the eye from the snout tip to the pectoral-fin base.
A Checked Swallowtail in an aquarium
A Checked Swallowtail in an aquarium
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2025, Odontanthias borbonius in Fishes of Australia, accessed 28 Jun 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/5363
Checked Swallowtail, Odontanthias borbonius (Valenciennes 1828)
More Info
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Distribution |
Flora Reef, Holmes Reef and Lihou Reef, Coral Sea, Australia. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical Indo-west Pacific from coast of east Africa to the Mariana Islands, Papua New Guinea, north to Japan and Taiwan. Inhabits deep reefs in depths to 300 m. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin X, 16-18; Anal fin III, 7-8 (usually 7); Pectoral fin 16-18; Lateral-line scales 39-43; Gill rakers 11-13 + 27-29. Body strongly compressed; third dorsal-fin spine elongate in males; caudal fin deeply forked. |
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Biology |
A protogynous hermaphrodite, changing sex from female to male. |
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Etymology |
The species is named borbonius for Borbon, an early name for Réunion Island, the type locality of this species. |
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Species Citation |
Serranus borbonius Valenciennes 1828, in Cuvier & Valenciennes Histoire naturelle des poissons 2: 263. Type locality: Réunion, western Mascarenes, southwestern Indian Ocean. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2025 |
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Resources |
Checked Swallowtail, Odontanthias borbonius (Valenciennes 1828)
References
Heemstra, P.C., Hissmann, K., Fricke, H. & Smale, M.J. 2006. Fishes of the deep demersal habitat at Ngazidja (Grand Comoro) Island, Western Indian Ocean. South African Journal of Science 102: 444-460. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC96600
Heemstra, P.C. & Randall, J.E. 1999. Family Serranidae. pp. 2442-2548 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 pp. 2069-2790. (as Holanthias borbonius)
Konishi, Y. 2024. Larvae of checked swallowtail (Odontanthias borbonius) (Teleostei: Serranidae: Anthiadinae), with comparisons of spiny ornamentation in related anthiadine species. NOAA Professional Paper NMFS 24: 106-117 https://doi.org/10.7755/PP.24.8
Kuiter, R.H. 2004. Basslets, Hamlets and their relatives. A comprehensive guide to selected Serranidae and Plesiopidae. Chorleywood, UK : TMC Publishing 1, 216 pp.
Randall, J.E. & Heemstra, P.C. 2006. Review of the Indo-Pacific fishes of the genus Odontanthias (Serranidae: Anthiinae), with descriptions of two new species and a related genus. Indo-Pacific Fishes 38: 1-32.
Tea, Y.K., Sih, T.L., Walsh, F. et al. 2025. New records of fishes from the Coral Sea Marine Park, Australia. Coral Reefs https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-025-02664-3
Valenciennes, A. 1828. In: Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 2 xxi, 2 + 490 pp., pls 9-40. See ref at BHL
White, W.T. 2011. Odontanthias randalli n. sp., a new anthiine fish (Serranidae: Anthiinae) from Indonesia. Zootaxa 3015: 21-28. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3015.1.3
Williams, J.T., Carpenter, K.E., Lawrence, A. & Myers, R. 2016. Odontanthias borbonius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T69586671A69592387. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T69586671A69592387.en. Downloaded on 08 July 2019.
