Chaetodont

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A marine fish known for its bright colors and distinctive patterns, belonging to a family characterized by thin, disc-shaped bodies and long snouts used for feeding on coral polyps
2. A type of brightly patterned reef fish with compressed bodies and pointed jaws, typically found in tropical waters where it feeds primarily on coral and small invertebrates
3. A colorful specialist fish species from coral reefs, notable for its slender form and elongated mouth adapted to picking food from crevices in underwater structures

Etymology: The name comes from two Greek words: "chaitē," meaning bristle or long hair, and "odous," meaning tooth. The teeth of these fish are fine and bristle-like rather than large and blade-shaped, which suits a diet of picking small invertebrates and polyps from coral. The genus name Chaetodon was given by Linnaeus, the Swedish naturalist who standardised the scientific naming of plants and animals. The English noun follows that genus name, and the family Chaetodontidae is built from the same root. Many members of the group are better known as butterflyfish, a name that refers to their flattened, colourful bodies rather than their teeth.

Synonyms: butterflyfish