Chaetodon
Chaetodon Linnaeus, 1758
"Citharoedus" Kaup, 1860 (non Herrmannsen, 1847: preoccupied)
Corallochaetodon Burgess, 1978
Discochaetodon Nalbant, 1971
Exornator Nalbant, 1971
Gonochaetodon Bleeker, 1876
Lepidochaetodon Bleeker, 1876
Megaprotodon Guichenot, 1848
Rabdophorus Swainson, 1839
Rhombochaetodon Burgess, 1978 (disputed)
Tetrachaetodon Weber & Beaufort, 1936
and see text
Chaetodon is a tropical fish genus in the family Chaetodontidae. Like their relatives, they are known as "butterflyfish". This genus is by far the largest among the Chaetodontidae, with about 90 living species included here,[1] though most might warrant recognition as distinct genera.
Subgenus Exornator (including Burgessius, Heterochaetodon and possibly Rhombochaetodon; tentatively placed here)
Several subgenera have been proposed for splitting out of this group. It is becoming clear how the genus might be split up, with a range [3][4] of DNA sequence data in large parts agreeing with S.D. Blum's landmark 1988 phylogenetic assessment of osteology.[5]
Basically, a core group around the type species Chaetodon capistratus would remain in Chaetodon, while maybe four clades would be split off. These could use the names Lepidochaetodon, Megaprotodon and Rabdophorus, and there is one unnamed group containing the Three-banded Butterflyfish (C. robustus) and its relatives. But the monophyly of the Lepidochaetodon group is not fully established; it is both unclear whether Rhombochaetodon is a lineage distinct from Exornator, and whether Lepidochaetodon is indeed closer to these than to any other Chaetodon, particularly to some lineages otherwise placed in Megaprotodon.[3]
Prognathodes, for some time contained in Chaetodon, is worthy of recognition as full genus, as is Roa.[6]
