Common Name
Reef Butterflyfish
Year Described
Poey, 1860
Identification
Dorsal Fin: XIII-XIV, 20-21
Anal Fin: III, 17-19
Pectoral Fin: 15-16
Lateral Line Scales: 36-44
Body a rounded rectangle (compare to the other three Chaetodon which are more rounded oval), symmetrical and highly compressed. Snout short with a tiny terminal mouth. Slender teeth in jaws in several rows. Preopercular edge lacks spines. Dorsal spines not elongated. Soft dorsal and anal fin angular but not closely hugging caudal fin. Second anal spine longest. Caudal fin evenly rounded. Pelvic fins thin and almost reach anal fin origin. Pectoral fin under angle of opercle. Lateral line arched in front but incomplete. Axillary scale present. Body, head, and most of median fins scaled.
Color
Golden to dusky yellow above, grading to whitish below. Sometimes with faint thin vertical bands. A distinct eyeband through eye runs from nape to chest. A second band runs from soft dorsal fin across peduncle to anal fin. Fins yellowish, becoming brighter yellow rearward. Fin margins with a thin white/pale blue line. Caudal fin pale yellow. Pelvic fin whitish to yellowish. Juveniles much like adults but more rounded and have a small ocellus on the soft dorsal fin and more extensive black bands.
Size
Maximum size to 15cm SL. Mature >8cm SL.
Habitat
Coral reefs. Usually seen solitary or with a mate. Juveniles in seagrass or mangrove beds.
Range
Known from North Carolina to southeastern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Also Bermuda.
References
McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. 2005. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 2: Scorpaeniformes to Tetraodontiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. i-viii +1-1004.