Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Prognathodes carlhubbsi Nalbant, 1995

Mariposa guadaña, Scythe butterflyfish

Very similar to P. falcifer, from the North Pacific. The color patterns in P. falcifer and P. carlhubbsi are differentiated by: (1) the dark snout band, in P. carlhubbsi black and gray in P. falcifer. (2) the tip of the scythe mark reaches the base of the dorsal fin spines in P. carlhubbsi, while for P. falcifer it ends well below those spines. (3) the upper part of the dorsal and base of the dorsal and base of the dorsal fin spines in P. carlhubbsi. carlhubbsi, whereas for P. falcifer it ends well below those spines. (3) the upper back and base of the dorsal fin are grayish in P. carlhubbsi and yellow in P. falcifer. The differences between these two species are very small, so a genetic study could solve the doubts about it (Robertson & Allen, 2015).

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Chordata

Class
Teleostei

Order
Acanthuriformes

Family
Chaetodontidae

Genus
Prognathodes

Species
carlhubbsi

Taxon category: Accepted

Note: This species was described by Nalbant, 1995 with Holotype CAS-ICH 80668 from Pta. Suarez- Española and 4 additional paratypes from Isabela, Española, Floreana and Pinzón, consequently this species is recognized for the Galapagos Islands and its sister species P. falcifer is rejected based on distribution ranges (CAS, 2022). P. falcifer was documented by Okey, T & Shepherd, S. (2000) and Danulat & Edgar, ed. 2002.

Origin: Native

Status

IUCN Red List Category: Not evaluated

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: The Galapagos Islands, Cocos, Malpelo, and the Lobos Islands off northern Peru (Robertson & Allen, 2015).

References

  • California Academy Science (2022) California Academy Science - Ichthyology California Academy Science
  • Froese, R. D. Pauly. Eds. (2021) FishBase World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org,
  • Horton, T. Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S., Bailly, N., Boyko, C. B., Brandão, S. N., Gofas, S., Hooper, J. N. A., Hernandez, F., Holovachov, O., Mees, J., Molodtsova, T. N., Paulay, G., Decock, W., Dekeyzer, S., Poffyn, G., Vandepitte, L., Vanhoorne, B., Adlard, R., ... Zhao, Z. (2021) World Register of Marine Species. Available from https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ.
  • Humann, P. Deloach, N. (2003) Reef Fish Identification - Galapagos. New World Publication, Inc. Florida USA & Libri Mundi, Quito, Ecuador, 226 pp.
  • IUCN (2023) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2 Https://www.iucnredlist.org
  • McCosker, J.E. Rosenblatt, R.H. (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sc., Ser. 4, vol. 61, Suppl. II, no. 11: 167-195.
  • Robertson, D. R., Allen, G. R. (2015) Fishes: East Pacific. A guide to the shorefishes of the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Version 3.0 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Prognathodes carlhubbsi", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7749. Accessed 31 October 2026.