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Latticed Butterflyfish
Chaetodon rafflesii Bennett, 1830
Above and below: A Latticed Butterflyfish at a depth of 11m, Ribbon #3, Great Barrier Reef off Cooktown, December 2001. View larger image.
The Latticed Butterflyfish has a yellow body with black scale margins that create a lattice effect. A black bar passes through the eye and there is a submarginal (glossary) black band on the rear of the dorsal fin. The caudal fin is yellow with a black bar.
This species grows to 15cm in length.
Latticed Butterflyfish typically inhabit sheltered inshore and outer reefs, and lagoons with abundant coral. This fish is often seen in pairs or as solitary individuals.
It is found in depths from 1m to 15m.
The Latticed Butterflyfish feeds on coral polyps, sea anemones and polychaetes.
It occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-West and Central Pacific, from Sri Lanka, north to Japan, south to Australia and east to the Tuamoto Islands.
In Australia it is known from off north-western Western Australia and the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.
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. 220.
- Allen, G.R., Steene, R. & M. Allen. 1998. A Guide to Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. Pp. 250.
- Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. Coral Graphics. Pp. 330.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 251.
Copyright © Australian Museum, 2006
Page researched and compiled by
K. Parkinson & M. McGrouther, April 2003.
