Ornate Butterflyfish, Chaetodon ornatissimus Cuvier 1831

Other Names: Clown Butterflyfish, Ornate Coralfish

An Ornate Butterflyfish, Chaetodon ornatissimus, in Anemone Bay, North Solitary Island, New South Wales, 3 April 2016. Source: Ian V. Shaw / Atlas of Living Australia. License: CC by Attribution

Summary:

A bluish-white butterflyfish with broad diagonal orange stripes on sides, and black and yellow vertical bands on the head,

Cite this page as:

Dianne J. Bray, Chaetodon ornatissimus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 09 Oct 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2391

Ornate Butterflyfish, Chaetodon ornatissimus Cuvier 1831

More Info

Distribution	Ningaloo Reef to North West Cape area and Rowley Shoals, Western Australia, Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, and northern Great Barrier Reef and Ashmore Reef, Coral Sea to Moreton Bay, Queensland; also the Lord Howe Island region, Tasman Sea, and Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas islands, Indian Ocean. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, east-Indo-west-central Pacific. Inhabits clear waters and coral-rich areas of lagoon and seaward reefs.
Feeding	An obligate corallivore - feeds exclusively on live coral, usually feeding on coral mucous rather than coral tissue, making it unique among coral-feeding butterflyfishes.
Species Citation	Chaetodon ornatissimus Cuvier, 1831, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 7: 22. Type locality: Tahiti.
Author	Dianne J. Bray
Resources	Australian Faunal Directory

Ornate Butterflyfish, Chaetodon ornatissimus Cuvier 1831

References

Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Allen, G.R., Hoese, D.F., Paxton, J.R., Randall, J.E., Russell, B.C., Starck, W.A., Talbot, F.H. & Whitley, G.P. 1976. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum 30(15): 365-454 figs 1-2

Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21.

Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.

Burgess, W.E. 1978. Butterflyfishes of the World. New Jersey : T.F.H. Publications Inc. 832 pp. figs.

Cole, A.J., Pratchett, M.S. & Jones, G.P. 2008. Diversity and functional importance of coral-feeding fishes on tropical coral reefs. Fish and Fisheries 9: 286-307.

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

Findley, J.S. & Findley, M.T. 2001. Global, regional, and local patterns in species richness and abundance of butterflyfishes. Ecological Monographs 7(1): 69-91.

Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2

Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes. Redcliffe : EM Grant Pty Ltd 880 pp.

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S.J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Checklist and new records of Christmas Island fishes: the influence of isolation, biogeography and habitat availability on species abundance and community composition. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 184–202.

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S .J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Fishes of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands: new records, community composition and biogeographic significance. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 203–219.

Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3)

Myers, R. & Pratchett, M. 2010. Chaetodon ornatissimus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.2. . Downloaded on 16 August 2015.

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. figs.

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

Steene, R.C. 1978. Butterfly and Angelfishes of the World. Australia. Sydney : A.H. & A.W. Reed Vol. 1 144 pp. 216 figs.