About Heniochus varius (Cuvier, 1829)
Size
The horned bannerfish (scientific name Heniochus varius (Cuvier, 1829)) is a small fish that grows to a maximum length of 19 centimetres (7.5 inches). Like other butterflyfishes, it has a characteristic deep, highly compressed body.
Body Shape
Adult horned bannerfish can be distinguished from other species in the same genus by a pair of distinct horns on the forehead, located just above the eyes, along with a prominent bump on the forehead. The body's main color ranges from brown to blackish, marked by one thin white band behind the head and a second white band that runs from the spiny section of the dorsal fin to the caudal peduncle. These two white stripes form a triangle of the body's base color on the fish's body.
Fin Counts
The dorsal fin of this species has 11 spines and 22 to 25 soft rays, while the anal fin has 3 spines and 17 to 18 soft rays.
Horned bannerfish are widely distributed across the tropical and subtropical waters of the central Indo-Pacific, ranging from Indonesia to Polynesia, and from southern Japan to New Caledonia. They live in coral-rich areas in shallow lagoons and external reef slopes, occurring from the water's surface down to a depth of 30 meters.
