Easter Island Butterflyfish

Scientific Name: Chaetodon litus
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 15cm
Description: Dusky brownish gray with large whitish patch on back, fins dusky brown edged with white.
Favourite: Form aggregations.
Hide-out: Rocky reefs composed of volcanic boulders with prolific growth of brown algae to 25m.
Location: Easter I. in the southeastern Pacific.

Panda Butterflyfish

Scientific Name: Chaetodon adiergastos
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 16cm
Description: Whitish with darker gray bands, fins yellow-orange (except pectoral); oval-shaped black eye bar, and small black spot on nape.
Favourite: Usually in pairs or small groups.
Hide-out: Silty inshore reefs and clear outer reefs in 3-25m.
Location: Asian Pacific - W. Pacific Rim from S.W. Japan, Indonesia, Malaysian Peninsula and Philippines to N.W. Australia.

Yellow-Dotted Butterflyfish

Scientific Name: Chaetodon selene
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 16cm
Description: White with numerous faint yellow spots arranged in diagonal rows, fins yellow except pectorals; blackish rim on rear body.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs.
Hide-out: Rubble or sand bottoms of coastal reefs in 8-50m.
Location: Asian Pacific - Indonesia to Malaysian Peninsula, Philippines and N. New Guinea. S.W. Japan and S. China Sea.

Japanese Butterflyfish

Scientific Name: Chaetodon nippon
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 15cm
Description: Yellowish or brassy with dark gray to brownish head and rear body; black spot on rear dorsal fin.
Favourite: Solitary, in pairs or groups.
Hide-out: Rocky coastal reefs in 5-30m.
Location: North Asian Pacific - W. Pacific Rim from S. Korea and S. Japan to N. Philippines.

Latticed Butterflyfish

Scientific Name: Chaetodon rafflesi
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 15cm
Description: Yellow with network of gray lines; broad dark submarginal band on soft dorsal fin and tail.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs.
Hide-out: Primarily coral-rich areas of sheltered coastal reefs, lagoons and outer slopes to 15m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - Sri Lanka to Indonesia, New Guinea and French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef.

Yellowrimmed Butterflyfish

Scientific Name: Chaetodon guentheri
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 14cm
Description: Silvery white with numerous dark spots; upper and rear body rimmed in yellow.
Hide-out: Rocky reefs and coral-rich outer slopes in 5-40m. Often near cool upwellings.
Location: Asian Pacific - S.W. Japan, N. Sulawesi and Komodo I. in Indonesia, S. New Guinea to Great Barrier Reef.

Three-Stripe Butterflyfish

Scientific Name: Chaetodon tricinctus
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 15cm
Description: White with pair of wide black bars on body; black eye bar, dorsal and anal fins broadly rimmed with yellow.
Favourite: In pairs or small groups.
Hide-out: Coral-rich areas of lagoons and outer reefs in 3-15m.
Location: Lord Howe and Norfolk Is. off E. Australia.

West Australian Butterflyfish

Scientific Name: Chaetodon assarius
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 13cm
Description: Beige with vertical rows of dark spots; rear body rimmed in brown with narrow white margin on rear dorsal and anal fins; ocellated spot on rear dorsal fin.
Favourite: Form aggregations.
Hide-out: Coastal reefs to 40m.
Location: W. Australia from Perth north to Shark Bay.