Owning to their obligate dependence on corals, fourspot butterflyfish tend to be distributed in stable feeding territories with high fidelity for each site and male-dominated defense mechanisms.
The  social structure is dominated by heterosexual, adult pair-bonds, while juveniles are typically solitary.
   However, there have also been observations of homosexual pair bonds and pair bonds between sexually immature butterflyfish in this genus.
 Therefore, the evolution of pair bonds may offer benefits beyond increasing reproductive fitness.
 Other proposed advantages of pair-bonding include increased foraging efficiency and vigilance against predators.
Within heterosexual pair-bonds, evidence supports the evolution of sex-specific roles rather than mutual territory defense.
In this division of labor, males  actively defend territory allowing females to successfully forage and therefore increase their fecundity.
Owning to their obligate dependence on corals, fourspot butterflyfish tend to be distributed in stable feeding territories with high fidelity for each site and male-dominated defense mechanisms. The  social structure is dominated by heterosexual, adult pair-bonds, while juveniles are typically solitary.    However, there have also been observations of homosexual pair bonds and pair bonds between sexually immature butterflyfish in this genus.  Therefore, the evolution of pair bonds may offer benefits beyond increasing reproductive fitness.  Other proposed advantages of pair-bonding include increased foraging efficiency and vigilance against predators. Within heterosexual pair-bonds, evidence supports the evolution of sex-specific roles rather than mutual territory defense. In this division of labor, males  actively defend territory allowing females to successfully forage and therefore increase their fecundity.
Fourspot butterflyfish