Chaetodon guttatissimus
Gorgeous gussy | Peppered Butterflyfish | Spotted Butterflyfish
Similar Species
Same Genus
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Cream to pale yellow body with dark spots forming vague vertical lines, white tail base with black bar, unlike C. citrinellus (Citron Butterflyfish). Distinguished from C. pelewensis by location (latter a Pacific Ocean species), and from C. punctatofasciatus by lacking yellow tail base and having black rather than yellow stripe through eye. An Indian Ocean species; in Australia only found at Christmas Island.
Information
Max Size: 12 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 25.4-33°C
Depth: 3-30m
Habitat Generalization Index: 4.76
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: Widespread (79.8% 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 (3 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