The family Chaetodontidae is well represented by ten genera. Of which, the most populousChaetodonis home to several subgenera, one of which is the eternally fascinatingRoaops. This small subgenus comprises of five handsome species, including the dapper, monochromaticChaetodon burgessi.
C. burgessiis a highly virulent species, and it is the most widely distributed of the pacific OceanRoaops. The species is found throughout Indonesia, Philippines and north to Okinawa. It spreads eastwards to Palau, Guam, Papua, the entire Melanesia and parts of Micronesia. In the Indian Ocean, this species is replaced by its allopatric sister,Chaetodon mitratus. The recent documentation of this species from Cairns Marine represents a new extension of its geographical distribution into the Coral Sea region.
In typicalRoaopsfashion, this species is deepwater, frequenting steep reef walls and slopes in excess of 45m (140ft). This pair was collected in particularly deep reefs, over 80m on a rebreather unit. While the species itself may not stir as much excitement as some of the other Coral Sea residents (i.eCirrhilabrus squirei,Bodianus cf. neopercularis,Rabaulichthys squireetc.), it is an important documentation nonetheless, especially in the Coral Sea; a biogeographical region that is prone to endemic fauna and reef fish speciation. At least we know that this species appears to maintain phenotypic and possibly genetic connectivity and homogeneity in this region.
The truncation of this post foreshadows a more complete, thorough review of the subgenusRoaopsthat Joe Rowlett and I are co-writing.
