Chaetodon lunula

Chaetodontidae
Racoon Butterflyfish, Half-moon Butterflyfish, Moon Butterflyfish, Red-striped Butterflyfish
  • Chaetodon lunula, Adult, Bali, Indonesia, Photo: Ian Shaw
    Chaetodon lunula, Adult, Bali, Indonesia, Photo: Ian Shaw
  • Chaetodon lunula, Adult. Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
    Chaetodon lunula, Adult. Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
  • Chaetodon lunula, Juvenile. Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
    Chaetodon lunula, Juvenile. Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
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: Coral Reef, Rocky Reef
  • Habitat Generalisation Index: 16.5
    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
Rarity
  • Threats: Exploitation, Habitat degradation
  • IUCN Threat Status: Least Concern
  • Occurrence: Common (21% 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
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