Eight-banded Butterflyfish, Chaetodon octofasciatus (Bloch, 1787)
Scientific name: Chaetodon octofasciatus
Click to enlarge image
An Eight-banded Butterflyfish at a depth of 5m Redang Island, Malaysia, April 2001.
Image: Erik Schlögl
© Erik Schlögl
© Erik Schlögl
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Chaetodon
- Species
- octofasciatus
- Family
- Chaetodontidae
- Order
- Perciformes
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Subphylum
- Vertebrata
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- The species grows to 12 cm in length.
Introduction
The Eight-banded Butterflyfish has a yellow to white body with eight black bands. The fish occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-West Pacific.
Identification
The Eight-banded Butterflyfish has a yellow to white body with eight black bands. It has a black stripe along the top of the snout and a clear caudal fin margin.
Distribution
The Eight-banded Butterflyfish is found in tropical marine waters of the Indo-West Pacific.
In Australia it is known only from offshore islands of north-western Western Australia.
The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.
Distribution data sourced from the Atlas of Living Australia
Feeding and diet
The Eight-banded Butterflyfish eats coral polyps.
References
- Allen, G.R., Steene, R. & M. Allen. 1998. A Guide to Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. Pp. 250.
- Allen, G.R. 1993. Reef Fishes of New Guinea. A Field Guide for Divers, Anglers and Naturalists. Christensen Research Institute. No. 8. Pp. 132.
- Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. Coral Graphics. Pp. 330.
