Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 18cm
Description: Alternating black and silver-white bars; yellow hue on back.
Hide-out: On rocky reefs with some live corals. Typically at least 50m, but occasionally shallow.
Location: Southwestern Pacific - S.E. Australia, Lord Howe and Norfolk Is. to N. New Zealand and Kermadec Is.
Showing posts with label Butterflyfish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Butterflyfish. Show all posts
Lord Howe Butterflyfish
Golden-Striped Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 12.5cm
Description: Grayish body rimmed with bright yellow; orange band through eye.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs; hybridizes with Goldbarred Butterflyfish.
Hide-out: Most common on silty coastal reefs, often near river mouths in 5-15m.
Location: N. Australia and S. Papua New Guinea to Great Barrier Reef.
Goldbarred Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 15cm
Description: Yellow; pair of broad bluish gray bars with orange margins and orange eye bar.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs; easy to approach.
Hide-out: Coastal and offshore reefs areas of sparse coral growth to 15m.
Location: S. Papua New Guinea to Great Barrier Reef.
Fourspot Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 16cm
Description: Yellow-orange with brown upper body; pair of white spots on back.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs; feed almost exclusively on Pocillopora corals.
Hide-out: Exposed rocky reefs with scattered coral growth in 2-15m.
Location: Northern Pacific - Taiwan and S.W. Japan to Hawaii and French Polynesia.
Eight-Banded Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 12cm
Description: Yellow Variation - Yellow to orange with 8 narrow black bars.
Favourite: Shelters among branching corals; feed exclusively on coral polyps.
Hide-out: Shallow protected lagoons (often turbid/silty) and inner reefs with good coral cover in 3-20m.
Location: Indo-Asian Pacific - Sri Lanka to Indonesia, Philippines and Solomon Is. S.W. Japan to N. New Guinea.
Eclipse Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 18cm
Description: Bright yellow; large blue-edged black spot on middle of back, pair of diagonal blue lines on lower body.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs.
Hide-out: Coral-rich areas of lagoons and on outer reefs in 5-30m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - E. Africa, Maldives, Indonesia, Philippines and New Guinea to French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef and Lord Howe I.
Dotted Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 24cm
Description: Yellow with horizontal rows of small black spots; blue marking on rear snout and nape; dorsal fin trails a thread-like filament.
Favourite: Usually in pairs.
Hide-out: Coral-rich areas of lagoons and outer slopes in 2-50m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - Sri-Lanka to Indonesia, New Guinea, Philippines, Micronesia and Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef.
Dot & Dash Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 12.5cm
Description: Yellowish tan with diagonal rows of dark spots becoming solid bands on upper body; orange eye bar, black spot on nape.
Favourite: Usually in pairs, sometimes with Spot-banded Butterflyfish (occasionally hybridize).
Hide-out: Outer reefs to 30m.
Location: Pacific - Indonesia, Philippines, Micronesia to Line Is. in eastern Central Pacific. N. Philippines to N.W. & E. Australia.
Brown-Banded Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 17cm
Description: Silvery white with pair of broad brown body bars; ocellated spot on rear dorsal fin.
Hide-out: Deep water from 40-250m, usually below 110m.
Location: Asian Pacific - A narrow north/south range from S. Japan through Philippines, Malaysian Peninsula and Central Indonesia.
Blackup Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 14cm
Description: Light brown with 'dirty' white head and diffuse central bar, black lip and ventral fins.
Favourite: Solitary to large aggregations.
Hide-out: Rocky reefs and coral-rich areas of lagoons, channels, outer reef slopes in 2-61m, usually below 10m.
Location: Indo-West Pacific - E. Africa and Maldives to Samoa and Hawaii. S.W. Japan to N.W. & E. Australia.
Blackcap Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 18cm
Description: Golden with thin reddish brown bands; black eye bar with prominent white bar behind, and black saddle across upper nape; tail margin black.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs.
Hide-out: Mixed rock and coral reefs in 4-25m.
Location: W. Pacific Rim from Gulf of Thailand to S.W. Japan.
Black & White Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 14cm
Description: White; black band from nape to pectoral region, broad black diagonal area across rear of body.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs.
Hide-out: Vertical or undercut dropoffs on outer reefs in 20-80m, usually below 40m.
Location: Asian Pacific - E. Indonesia, Philippines, N. New Guinea to Palau and Pohnpei in Micronesia.
Black Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 20cm
Description: Dark with yellow rim that is most prominent around rear edge of body and tail; dark blotch on nape; large adults develop hump on forehead.
Favourite: Usually in pairs.
Hide-out: Coral and rocky reefs in 2-20m.
Location: Southern Pacific - E. Australia to Rapa and Pitcaim Is. southeast of French Polynesia.
Asian Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 20cm
Description: White with net pattern; broad black bars or saddle markings on rear head and mid-body, black bar across rear body.
Favourite: In pairs or small aggregations.
Hide-out: Rock or coral reefs in 5-20m.
Location: North Asian Pacific - W. Pacific Rim from S. Japan including Ryukyu and Izu Is., Philippines, S. China and Taiwan.
Teardrop Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 20cm
Description: White with bright yellow dorsal, anal and ventral fins; black tear-shaped spot on back; adults develop a large bulbous snout.
Favourite: Solitary or form small groups.
Hide-out: Lagoons and seaward reefs in 10-60m.
Location: Pacific - Indonesia and Philippines to French Polynesia. S.W. Japan and Hawaii to N.W. & E. Australia.
Black & Yellow Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 17cm
Description: Dark brown head and forebody, yellow rear body and tail.
Favourite: Commonly in large mid-water feeding aggregations.
Hide-out: Rocky, algal-covered reefs with scattered coral in 10-30m.
Location: Rapa I., Ilots de Bass I. (Marotiri) and Pitcaim Is. in S. and S.E. French Polynesia.
Andaman Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 15cm
Description: Bright yellow with numerous faint stripes; black spot on base of tail.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs.
Hide-out: Rock and coral reefs near shore and on outer slopes in 10-40m.
Location: Indian Ocean - Maldives, Sri Lanka, Andaman Sea to W. Sumatra in Indonesia.
Blue-Spot Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 15cm
Description: Bright yellow with numerous faint stripes; blue patch on side, ocellated spot on base of tail and blue-edged eye bar.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs.
Hide-out: Shallow coastal waters including lagoons and seaward reefs to 10m.
Location: East Indo-West Pacific - Andaman Sea to Indonesia, New Guinea and Fiji. S.W. Japan to W. & E. Australia.
Yellowback Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 12.5cm
Description: White with chevron markings, outer tail yellow to orange; broad yellow to orange bar across rear body, black eye bar and spot or smudge on nape.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs.
Hide-out: Lagoons and outer slopes in 10-120m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - E. Africa, Maldives, Indonesia, Philippines and New Guinea to French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to E. Australia.
Crosshatch Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 14cm
Description: White with net pattern, outer tail yellow; broad yellow bar across rear body, black eye bar and spot on nape.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs.
Hide-out: Outer reef slopes and drop-offs, usually among rocks or coral in 12-50m.
Location: Asian Pacific - Gulf of Thailand, S. China Sea, S.W. Japan, Malaysian Peninsula, Indonesia and Philippines.
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