Bluespot Butterflyfish, Chaetodon plebeius Cuvier 1831


Other Names: Blueblotch Butterflyfish, Blue-blotched Butterfly-fish, Blue-dash Butterflyfish, Blue-spot Butterflyfish, Coral Butterflyfish, Grey Blotched Butterflyfish, Two-spot Coralfish

A Bluespot Butterflyfish, Chaetodon plebeius, on Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Source: Rick Stuart-Smith / Reef Life Survey. License: CC By Attribution

Summary:
A bright yellow butterflyfish with a broad blue streak on the upper side, a black spot on the caudal peduncle and a blue-edged black bar through the eye.

Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Chaetodon plebeius in Fishes of Australia, accessed 28 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2394

Bluespot Butterflyfish, Chaetodon plebeius Cuvier 1831

More Info


Distribution

Rottnest Island to the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia, and from the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, to at least Arrawarra, New South Wales, including reefs in the Coral Sea, and Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs and Lord Howe Island. Elsewhere, the species occurs in the tropical West Pacific.
Found in a range of coral reef habitats, from shallow coastal and lagoon environments to outer reef slopes in depths to about 14 m - either solitary or in pairs.

Feeding

Adults are obligate corallivores, feeding mostly on Pocillopora corals. Juveniles may remove ectoparasites from other fishes.

Conservation

This species relies on live corals for food and recruitment.

Species Citation

Chaetodon plebeius Cuvier 1831, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 7: 68. Type locality: South Seas (as Mers du Sud).

Author

Dianne J. Bray

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Bluespot Butterflyfish, Chaetodon plebeius 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., 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.

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. 

Coleman, N. 1981. Australian Sea Fishes North of 30°S. Lane Cove, NSW : Doubleday Australia Pty Ltd 297 pp.

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

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. 1975. Guide to Fishes. Brisbane : Queensland Government, Co-ordinator General’s Department 640 pp.

Hutchins, J.B. 2001. Biodiversity of shallow reef fish assemblages in Western Australia using a rapid censusing technique. Records of the Western Australian Museum 20: 247-270.

Hutchins, J.B. & Thompson, M. 1983. The Marine and Estuarine Fishes of South-western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 103 pp. 345 figs.

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)

Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.

Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp.

Ogilby, J.D. 1910. On new or insufficiently described fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 23(1): 1-55 (p. 14, as Megaprotodon maculiceps)

Oxley, W.G., Ayling, A.M., Cheal, A.J. & Osborne, K. 2004. Marine surveys undertaken in the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Nature Reserve, December 2003. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Sciences 64 pp.

Pratchett, M.S. 2005. Dietary overlap among coral-feeding butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae) at Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef. Marine Biology 148: 373-382.

Pratchett, M.S. and Berumen, M.L. 2008. Interspecific variation in ditributions and diets of coral reef butterflyfishes (Teleostei: Chaetodontidae). Journal of Fish Biology 73: 1730-1747.

Pratchett, M.S., Munday, P.L., Wilson, S.K., Graham, N.A.J., Cinner, J.E., Bellwood, D.R., Jones, G.P., Polunin, N.V.C. & McClanahan, T.R. 2008. Effects of climate-induced coral bleaching on coral reef fishes - Ecological and economic consequences. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 46: 251-296..

Pratchett, M.S., Wilson, S.K. & Baird, A.H. 2006. Declines in the abundance of Chaetodon butterflyfishes following extensive coral depletion. Journal of Fish Biology 69: 1269-1280.
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.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37365050

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:1-14 m

Feeding:Feeds on live corals

Habitat:Reef associated

Max weight:15 cm TL

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map