Find a Fish
Saddled Butterflyfish
Chaetodon ephippium Cuvier, 1831
A Saddled Butterfly fish at a depth of 25m, Harrier Reef, Great Barrier Reef off Port Douglas, Queensland, November 1998. View larger image.
A Saddled Butterfly fish at a depth of 16m, Tijou Reef, far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, December 1999. View larger image.
The Saddled Butterflyfish can be recognised by the large white-bordered black area on the upper side below the dorsal fin. The body is grey with blue-grey stripes across the lower sides. The breast and snout are yellow.
Adults have a filament extending from the back of the dorsal fin.
This species grows to 23cm in length.
It occurs in marine tropical waters of the Western and Central Pacific.
In Australia it is known from the central coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north and south to the northern coast of New South Wales.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Allen, G.R., Steene, R. & M. Allen. 1998. A Guide to Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. Pp. 250.
- Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 201.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
