Forcipiger longirostris

Longnose Butterflyfish
Forcipiger longirostris
Forcipiger longirostris, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Forcipiger longirostris
Forcipiger longirostris, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Photo: Andrew Green
Forcipiger longirostris
Forcipiger longirostris, French Polynesia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
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Forcipiger longirostris
Forcipiger longirostris
Forcipiger longirostris

Distribution

Tropical Indo-Pacific


Description

Distinct long nose, yellow body with a black and white head, and black ocellus on anal fin. Numerous small black spots on breast and more elongated snout distinguishes it from F. flavissimus (Forceps fish). Also less common.


Information

Max Size: 22 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 23.4-31.4°C

Depth: 2-200m

Habitat Generalization Index: 6.11

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Least Concern

Occurrence: Infrequent (8.0% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Few (4 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.