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Double-saddle Butterflyfish
Chaetodon ulietensis Cuvier, 1831
A Double-saddle Butterflyfish at a depth of 6m, "Pixies south-east Wall", Great Barrier Reef north of Port Douglas, Queensland, November 1998. View larger image.
The Double-saddle Butterflyfish is white with thin vertical lines and two dark bands on the body. The posterior part of the body and the dorsal, anal and caudal fins are yellow. There is a black bar through the eye and a black spot on the caudal peduncle.
This species grows to 15cm in length.
It eats a wide range of foods including invertebrates and algae.
The Double-saddle Butterflyfish is known from the Central and Western Pacific. It is usually seen in pairs on coral reefs.
In Australia it is found off north-western Western Australia and from northern Queensland south to the central 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.
- 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.
