Spot-tail Butterflyfish, Chaetodon ocellicaudus Cuvier 1831

Other Names: Spot-tail Butterfly Fish, Spottail Butterflyfish, Spot-tail Coralfish, Tail-spot Butterflyfish

A Spot-tail Butterflyfish, Chaetodon ocellicaudus, at Madang, Papua New Guinea, February 2010. Source: Jan Messersmith / www.messersmith.name/wordpress/. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:

A whitish butterflyfish encircled in yellow, with many diagonal black stripes, a black bar through the eye, and a black spot on the caudal peduncle.

Cite this page as:

Dianne J. Bray, Chaetodon ocellicaudus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 13 Jan 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2389

Spot-tail Butterflyfish, Chaetodon ocellicaudus Cuvier 1831

More Info

Distribution	Scott Reef, Western Australia, and Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, and the northern Great Barrier Reef to Moreton Bay, Queensland; also reefs in the Coral Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, east-Indo-west Pacific - from northern Borneo (Malaysia) and Java to the Solomon Islands and north throughout the Philippines and south to Scott/Seringapatam reefs off the northwest Australian shelf and northern Great Barrier Reef. Inhabits coral-rich areas of lagoons and outer reefs, most commonly on steep outer reef slopes and in reef crest channels. Occurs singly or in pairs, at depths of 1-50 m.
Features	Dorsal fin XIII, 19-20; Anal fin III, 17-18; Pectoral fin 13-14; Lateral-line scales 29-34.
Feeding	An obligate corallivore - feeds only on coral polyps, mostly soft corals.
Fisheries	The species is occasionally traded in the aquarium industry.
Conservation	As this species relies on live coral for food and recruitment, populations are likely to be affected by habitat loss, including coral bleaching due to warming oceans.
Similar Species	The Spot-tail Butterflyfish differs from the very similar Black-backed Butterflyfish (Chaetodon melannotus), in having a paler back, usually 14 (vs 15) pectoral-fin rays, a black spot (vs a black saddle) on the caudal peduncle, and no black marking on the anterior base of the anal fin.
Species Citation	Chaetodon ocellicaudus Cuvier 1831, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 7: 69. No type locality given.
Author	Dianne J. Bray
Resources	Australian Faunal Directory

Spot-tail Butterflyfish, Chaetodon ocellicaudus Cuvier 1831

References

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Cuvier, G.L. in Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1831. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 7 531 pp. pls 170-208.

Fessler, J.L. & Westneat, M.W. 2007. Molecular phylogenetics of the butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae): Taxonomy and biogeography of a global coral reef fish family. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 45(1): 50–68. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.05.018 Abstract

Hsu, K-C., Chen, J-P. & Shao, K-T. 2007. Molecular phylogeny of Chaetodon (Teleostei: Chaetodontidae) in the Indo-West Pacific: evolution in geminate species pairs and species groups. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 14: 77-86. PDF Open Access

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Myers, R. & Pratchett, M. 2010.Chaetodon ocellicaudus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T165676A6088487. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165676A6088487.en. Downloaded on 23 May 2016.

Pyle, R. 2001. Chaetodontidae, Pomacanthidae. pp. 3224-3286 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 5 2791-3379 pp.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp.