- Classification
- ACTINOPTERYGII
- PERCIFORMES
- CHAETODONTIDAE
- Chaetodon
- trifasciatus
Melon Butterflyfish, Chaetodon trifasciatus Park 1797
Other Names: Lineated Butterflyfish, Pinstriped Butterflyfish, Purple Butterflyfish, Rainbow Butterflyfish, Redfin Butterfly Fish, Redfin Butterflyfish, Three Banded Coralfish, Three-banded Butterfly, Three-banded Coralfish

A Melon butterflyfish, Chaetodon trifasciatus, at Reunion island. Source: zsispeo / Flickr. License: CC BY Attribution-ShareAlike
Summary:
A pale orange butterflyfish with a bluish rear section, with oblique purplish stripes along sides, a yellow-margined black band through the eye and along the dorsal and anal-fin bases, a reddish-orange anal fin and a yellowish-orange caudal peduncle.
Although recorded from Australia in a number of publications, this species only occurs at the Australian territories of Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas islands.
Although recorded from Australia in a number of publications, this species only occurs at the Australian territories of Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas islands.
Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Chaetodon trifasciatus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 07 Mar 2021, http://136.154.202.208/home/species/4835
Melon Butterflyfish, Chaetodon trifasciatus Park 1797
More Info
Distribution |
Widespread in the Indian Ocean, from East Africa to the Raja Ampat Islands, West Papua, Indonesia, and the Australian territories of Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island. Inhabits protected coral-rich areas in lagoons and on seaward reefs. |
Feeding |
An obligate corallivore - feeds on polyps from a wide range of different coral species. |
Fisheries |
Although frequently collected for the aquarium trade, this species usually starves in captivity because it feeds only on live corals. |
Similar Species |
The similar Pinstripe Butterflyfish, Chaetodon lunulatus, has a white caudal peduncle (vs yellow in Chaetodon trifasciatus) and the back and rear of the body are not as bluish. C. lunulatus occurs in the East-Indo-west-central Pacific. |
Species Citation |
Chaetodon trifasciatus Park, 1797, Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond. 3: 34. Type locality: Bengkulu Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. |
Author |
Dianne J. Bray |
Resources |
Melon Butterflyfish, Chaetodon trifasciatus Park 1797
References
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.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.
Burgess, W.E. 1978. Butterflyfishes of the World. New Jersey : T.F.H. Publications Inc. 832 pp. figs. (in part, Indian Ocean material only)
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.
Graham, N.A.J., Wilson, S.K., Jennings, S., Polunin, N.V.C., Robinson, J., Bijoux, J.P. & Daw, T.M. 2007. Lag effects in the impacts of mass coral bleaching on coral reef fish, fisheries, and ecosystems. Conservation Biology 21(5): 1291-1300.
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.
Kuiter, R.H. 1995. Chaetodon lunulatus, a sibling species of C. trifasciatus, with observations on other sibling species of butterflyfish (Chaetodontidae). Revue Française d'Aquariologie et Herpétologie 21(3-4): 105-106.
Park, M. 1797. Descriptions of eight new fishes from Sumatra. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 3: 33-38 fig. 1
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.
Pyle, R., Rocha, L.A., Craig, M.T. & Pratchett, M. 2010. Chaetodon trifasciatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.2.