Chaetodon lunula
Racoon butterflyfish | Half-moon Butterflyfish | Moon Butterflyfish | Red-striped Butterflyfish
Similar Species
Same Genus
Distribution
Temperate Australasia, Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Mainly yellow body with a dusky back. Black bar through eye followed by vivid white band, and a diagonal black bar sweeping upwards from behind eye to dorsal fin base. Brown/orange diagonal bars on lower body with a black spot on tail base. Juveniles have black ocellus on the rear of dorsal fin.
Information
Max Size: 20 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 21.4-31.3°C
Depth: 1-170m
Habitat Generalization Index: 16.48
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: Common (22.2% 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