Orange-tailed Coralfish, Coradion calendula Matsunuma, Motomura & Seah 2023

Other Names: Orange-tailed Butterflyfish

Summary:

A coralfish with a single ocellated spot on the soft dorsal fin, no ocellated spot on the anal fin, an orange caudal peduncle with a short black, saddle-like, dorsal streak, a sharply pointed pelvic fin with an almost straight posterior contour when spread, and a dark band on each interopercle joining on ventral midline with anterior margins forming a sharply pointed “V” in the ventral view.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2024, Coradion calendula in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/5704

Orange-tailed Coralfish, Coradion calendula Matsunuma, Motomura & Seah 2023

More Info

Distribution	Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, to the Torres Strait, Queensland.
Features	Dorsal fin IX,28-32; Anal fin III,20-22. (mode 21); a single ocellated spot on soft-rayed portion of dorsal fin; no ocellated spot on anal fin; band on caudal peduncle usually orange when fresh (obscured in preserved specimens) with a short, saddle-like, blackish dorsal streak; a sharply pointed pelvic fin with an almost straight posterior contour when spread (most obviously in large specimens >10 cm SL); and a dark band on each interopercle joining on ventral midline with anterior margins forming a sharply pointed “V” in ventral view
Colour	The caudal peduncle is pale-yellow to dusky orange, while juvenile C. chrysozonus band (Fig. 9D), whereas a 34.6 mm-SL specimen has a dusky orange band (Fig. 9A). However, the fresh color of small juvenile C. chrysozonus is available only for a 30.9 mm-SL specimen, which has a gray-margined, yellow-green band on the caudal peduncle (Fig. 9G). Although the fresh coloration of 40–60 mm-SL examined specimens of C. chrysozonus was not recorded, underwater photographs (Fig. 7B–D) indicated that juveniles of the species have a blackish or brownish caudal-peduncle band, rather than orange or yellow
Feeding	Feeds on zooplankton and sponges.
Similar Species	Differs from the Orangeband Coralfish, Coradion chrysozonus, in the shape of the expanded pelvic fin (almost straight vs rounded and expanded posteriorly in C. chrysozonus), in the modal numbers of dorsal-fin soft rays (28-32 vs 27-30 in C. chrysozonus) and anal-fin soft rays (20-22 vs 18-21), and in the shape of the black band on the preopercle. Adults have an orange caudal-peduncle band with a small, saddle-like, blackish dorsal streak, vs. a broad, brown-to-black circum-peduncular band in C. chrysozonus. Juveniles have an orange or yellow caudal peduncle band (vs a blackish or brownish caudal-peduncle band in C. chrysozonus).
Etymology	The specific name calendula is the name of a genus of plants in the daisy family Asteraceae (often known as marigolds), alluding to the characteristic orange band on the caudal peduncle of this species.
Species Citation	Coradion calendula Matsunuma, Motomura & Seah, in Matsunuma, Matsumoto, Motomura, Seah & Jaafar 2023, Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation 40: 7, Figs. 3A-C, 4A-B, 5A-C, 6A, 7F, 8, 9A-F. Type locality: Australia, Western Australia, WNW of Port Hedland, -20.166°, 117.9°, 34 m.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2024
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Orange-tailed Coralfish, Coradion calendula Matsunuma, Motomura & Seah 2023

References

Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls. (as Coradion chrysozonus)

Blaber, S.J.M., Brewer, D.T. & Harris, A.N. 1994. Distribution, biomass and community structure of demersal fishes of the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. Australian Journal of Marine Freshwater Research 45(3): 375-396. (as Coradion chrysozonus)

Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & Kailola, P.J. 1984. Trawled Fishes of Southern Indonesia and Northwest Australia. Jakarta : Dir. Gen. Fish. (Indonesia), German Tech. Coop., Aust. Dev. Ass. Bur. 406 pp. (as Coradion chrysozonus, p. 222, unnumbered fig.)

Matsunuma, M., Matsumoto, T., Motomura, H., Seah, Y.G. & Jaafar, T.N.A.M. 2023. Coradion calendula, a new butterflyfish from Australia (Teleostei: Chaetodontidae). Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation 40: 1-28. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7504828

Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. & Leyland, G.G. 1984. Continental Shelf Fishes of Northern and North-Western Australia. Canberra : Fisheries Information Service 375 pp. figs & pls. (as Coradion chrysozonus, p. 246, unnumbered figure = CSIRO CA3049)