Fish Geek's Pick-Of-The-Week: Extra Geeky Edition! Hybrid Thompson x Pyramid!

Hemitaurichthys Hybrid. Photo by John P. Hoover.

Hybrid! Of Pyramid and Thompson's Butterflies!

Pyramid: Hemitaurichthys polylepis ("many scales")

Thompson's: Hemitaurichthys thompsoni (after John W. Thompson of the Bishop Museum)

Kelleen says, "Sometime in July (according to my logbook) I spotted this individual with a small school of pyramids on a gently sloped dropoff near 40'. It was like the area it occupied suddenly went black & white. My first thought was that it was a pyramid with no pigment, like an albino, but grey is still pigment, yes? Robyn thought it may be hybrid of Thompson's and Pyramid, and upon seeing it, John P. Hoover agreed. Being Hapa myself, I have much love for a hybrid!"

Indeed, Hybrids are very rare and special. The hybrid species we most often see on our dives are surgeonfish. This summer's epic bloom of surgeons and butterflies has increased the amount and distribution of pyramids on our sites. Thompson's butterflies, often called "Businessmen butterfly" due to their grey suits, are a rare butterfly most often seen in the waters of Hawaii island. Although neither fish is endemic, the beauty of the pyramid crossed with the rarity of the Thompson's makes this a special and rare fish. Upon revisiting a site, we are more apt to locate distinctive individuals like a hybrid, albino, or a fish with a noticeable wound or deformation. Because we are sappy fish geeks, we feel like these fish are our pet friends, and we worry about them being eaten, caught or captured. The staff at the Bishop museum commented that any variation (hybrid, albino, deformed) is exciting, not to mention a never before documented hybrid.

John E. Randall says, "More natural hybrids of coral reef fishes have been found in the butterflyfish and angelfish families... It should be noted, however, that hybrids are rarely a perfect amalgamation of the color patterns of the two parent species. Often a hybrid resembles one parent more than the other. This could be the result of the hybrid breeding with one of the original parent species." He also noted that he "Never saw that hybrid". 

 John P. Hoover says, "Possibly the only known hybrid in genus Hemitaurichthys."

Another beautiful photo from John P. Hoover

Kama'aina? Not endemic, but so rare and special!

Size: Both species only get to about 3".

Depth: Drop-offs and ledges around 40', with these two species often schooling together.

White List? Pyramid butterflies are on the white list, meaning they are legal to take. Thompson's are not on the list. Unknown where legally a hybrid of the two would fall. 
Albinos and hybrids are not only valuable for ichthyologists to study, but also unfortunately valuable in the aquarium trade, often fetching larger sums. We are therefore worried about this guy and hope it gets to live a long life and breed on the reef, instead of selfishly belonging only to one collector. Luckily, this fish exists in an area illegal to take fish for the aquarium trade. 
Please feel free to ask us questions about this special fish: We are excited to share this find with our enthusiastic and appreciative divers.