Blue-cheeked butterflyfish
Chaetodon semilarvatus
The blue-cheeked butterflyfish, ''Chaetodon semilarvatus'', is a species of butterflyfish . It is found in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, at depths of between 3 and 20 m.
The blue-cheeked butterflyfish belongs to the large subgenus ''Rabdophorus'' which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus. In this group, it seems closest to a group containing the Blackback butterflyfish , the spot-naped butterflyfish , or the peculiar black-wedged butterflyfish and Pacific double-saddle butterflyfish or "false falcula", . Though the present species does not share their white body with black on the back and caudal peduncle and even lacks the typical eyestripe of ''Chaetodon'', it has the same tell-tale blue vertical lines as these species.
The blue-cheeked butterflyfish belongs to the large subgenus ''Rabdophorus'' which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus. In this group, it seems closest to a group containing the Blackback butterflyfish , the spot-naped butterflyfish , or the peculiar black-wedged butterflyfish and Pacific double-saddle butterflyfish or "false falcula", . Though the present species does not share their white body with black on the back and caudal peduncle and even lacks the typical eyestripe of ''Chaetodon'', it has the same tell-tale blue vertical lines as these species.