Chaetodon oxycephalus

Spotnape Butterflyfish | Pig-face Butterflyfish
Chaetodon oxycephalus
Chaetodon oxycephalus, adult, Photo: Ian Shaw

Distribution

Tropical Indo-Pacific


Description

Pearly white body with thin black lines from back stopping before belly and a black saddle surrounded by yellow. Dorsal, tail and anal fins yellow. Broad black band on head separated from black patch above eye. Chaetodon lineolatus (Lined butterflyfish) has patch above eye joined with black band.


Information

Max Size: 25 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 26.6-31.4°C

Depth: 10-40m

Habitat Generalization Index: 1.89

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Least Concern

Occurrence: Infrequent (2.3% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Few (2 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.


Edit by: RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland