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Bluespot Butterflyfish
Chaetodon plebeius Cuvier 1831
A Bluespot Butterflyfish at a depth of 12m, Bougainville Reef, Coral Sea, December 2000. View larger image.
The Bluespot Butterflyfish has thin dark stripes on the body and a patch of blue on the upper sides. There is a black spot on the caudal peduncle and a blue-edged black bar through the eye. Juveniles resemble adults but lack the blue patch on the sides of the body.
This species lives in tropical marine waters throughout the Indo-Australian archipelago, north to Japan and east to Fiji. In Australia it is recorded from southern to north-western Western Australia and from the northern Great Barrier Reef to northern New South Wales.
The Bluespot Butterflyfish grows to 15cm in length. It eats mostly coral polyps.
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.
