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Longfin Bannerfish
Heniochus acuminatus (Linnaeus, 1758)

A Longfin Bannerfish at Port Stephens, New South Wales. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson.

Schooling Bannerfish at Fish Rock, South West Rocks, New South Wales. Photo © Á. Lumnitzer.
View larger image.

A 17 mm SL Bannerfish from the Australian Museum fish collection (AMS I.25367-007). The fish was caught at a depth of 10 m, off Waianae, Oahu, Hawaii, June 1983. Photo: A. Hay © Australian Museum.
View larger image.

Adult Longfin Bannerfish have a long tapering dorsal filament. The body is white with two broad black bands. The soft dorsal and caudal fins are yellow.

This species grows to 25 cm in length.

The Longfin Bannerfish is usually found at depths from 2 m to 75 m, in sheltered coastal bays and coral reef waters.

It occurs throughout the tropical Indo-West and Central Pacific.

In Australia it is known from south-western Western Australia, around the tropical north, and south to the southern coast of New South Wales.

View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.

The closely related Schooling Bannerfish, Heniochus diphreutes, (middle image) looks very similar, but can be distinguished by a more rounded profile under the head and a shorter snout. The second black band is located further forward on the anal fin and there is an additional dorsal fin spine (12 vs 11).

Related links

• Pennant Bannerfish fact sheet
• Masked Bannerfish fact sheet
• Singular Bannerfish fact sheet
• View the Butterflyfishes list
• View low res movie clip of Schooling Bannerfish - wmv (49k), Quicktime (43k)
• View high res movie clips of Schooling Bannerfish on the movies page

Further reading

1. Allen, G.R., Steene, R. & M. Allen. 1998. A Guide to Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. Pp. 250.
2. Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston publishing. Pp. 180.
3. Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House Press. Pp. 437.
4. Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
5. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R & R.C. Steene. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 507.