Doublesaddle Butterflyfish, Chaetodon ulietensis Cuvier 1831


Other Names: Double-saddle Butterflyfish, Double-saddled Butterflyfish, Pacific Double Saddleback Butterflyfish, Pacific Doublesaddle Butterflyfish, Pacific Double-saddle Butterflyfish

A Doublesaddle Butterflyfish, Chaetodon ulietensis, in Northern Fiji. Source: Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist.org. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:
A white butterflyfish with yellow dorsal, caudal and anal fins, two broad diffuse dark grey to blackish bars on the upper side, a black bar through the eye, a large black spot on the caudal-fin base, and narrow vertical lines on the side.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2020, Chaetodon ulietensis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2403

Doublesaddle Butterflyfish, Chaetodon ulietensis Cuvier 1831

More Info


Distribution

North West Cape to the Dampier Archipelago, and offshore reefs of north Western Australia, Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and the far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, and reefs in the Coral Sea, to Sydney, New South Wales; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean and the Lord Howe Province in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, east-Indo-west-central Pacific: Andaman Sea east to Wake Atoll, Marshall Islands and Ducie (Pitcairn Group), north to southern Japan, south to  New Caledonia and Tonga.
Individuals, pairs or groups inhabit coral-rich areas in lagoon and seaward reefs at depths to 30 m. Juveniles may also occur in harbors and estuaries. 

Features

Dorsal fin XII, 23-24; Anal fin III, 19-21; Pectoral fin 14-15; Lateral-line scales 32-37.Body depth 1.5-1.8 in SL; snout relatively long, 2.2-2.5 in head.

Similar Species

The similar Blackwedged Butterflyfish, Chaetodon falcula, which occurs in the Indian Ocean, differs in having two black wedge-shaped saddles on the back, and a black band around the caudal-fin base. Both species are found at the Australian Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean.

Etymology

The species is named ulietensis for the type locality, Uliétéa Island (= Raiatea), French Polynesia.

Species Citation

Chaetodon ulietensis Cuvier, 1831, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 7: 39. Type locality: Uliétéa Island, French Polynesia (= Raiatea, Society Islands).

Author

Bray, D.J. 2020

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Doublesaddle Butterflyfish, Chaetodon ulietensis Cuvier 1831

References


Allen, G.R. 1980. Butterfly and Angelfishes of the World. New York : John Wiley & Sons Vol. 2 pp. 149-352 figs 214-510.

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., Steene, R. & Allen, M. 1998. A Guide to Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes. Cairns : Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research 250 pp. figs.

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.

Blum, S.D. 1989. Biogeography of the Chaetodontidae, an analysis of allopatry among closely related species. Environmental Biology of Fishes 25(1): 9-31 

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

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

De Vis, C.W. 1884. New fishes in the Queensland Museum. No. 2. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1 9(3): 453-462 (described as Chaetodon aurora)

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, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2007.05.018

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

Francis, M.P. & Randall, J.E. 1993. Further additions to the fish faunas of Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 118-135 figs 1-22 pls 1-4

Grant, E.M. 1991. Fishes of Australia. Brisbane : EM Grant Pty Ltd 480 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.

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.

Kuiter, R.H. 2002. Butterflyfishes, Bannerfishes and their Relatives. Chorleywood, U.K. : TMC Publishing 208 pp.

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. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 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:37365060

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:2-30 m

Habitat:Aquarium fish

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:15 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map