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Banded Butterflyfish

The bold black-and-white stripes of the banded butterflyfish are a common sight among the vibrant coral reefs where they live!

 

The banded butterflyfish is found throughout shallow waters along the east coast of North, Central, and South America. It most commonly inhabits the rocky and coral reefs of tropical and sub-tropical waters but sometimes strays as far north as Massachusetts. Both adults and juveniles sport alternating vertical black and whitish bands, but younger fish also have a large ocellated spot on their dorsal fin. Its tall, compressed, disk-shaped body can make it difficult for some predators to swallow them when paired with the spines along its dorsal fin.

Using its short, pointed snout, the banded butterflyfish feeds on a variety of prey, including coral polyps, bristle worms, and small crustaceans. Although it is often seen alone or in pairs, adults sometimes gather in groups of up to 20 individuals to feed on plankton. These groups may also occasionally act as cleaners, removing parasites from visiting reef fish. During the breeding season, banded butterflyfish form monogamous pairs.

 

 

Banded butterflyfish are not currently endangered or known to face any major threats. However, as a species that inhabits coral reefs, climate change may pose a danger to their habitat and possibly impact these fish in the future.

 

 

Taking steps to tackle the climate crisis — like stopping the expansion of offshore drilling — can help address the acceleration of warming ocean temperatures that degrade coral habitats and threaten the future of animals like banded butterflyfish. Learn more about how Oceana campaigns to protect our climate here.

 

 

  • IUCN Red List 
  • Fishbase 
  • Karan EA, Hodge JR and Alfaro ME (2005)  Eyespot function in butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae): comparing evidence for aposematism, automimicry, and predator mimicry. Biological Jouranl of the Linnean Society 144(2): blae122. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blae122 
  • Sazima C and Sazima I (2001) Plankton-feeding aggregation and occasional cleaning by adult butterflyfish Chaetodon striatus (Chaetodontidae), in southwestern Atlantic. Cybium 25: 145-151.   
  • Pratchett MS, Wilson SK and Baird AH (2006) Declines in the abundance of Chaetodon butterflyfishes following extensive coral depletion. Journal of Fish Biology 69(5): 1269-1280. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2006.01161.xDigital%20Object%20Identifier%20(DOI) 
  • Burgress WE. Chaetodontidae In: Perciformes: Percoidei: Chaetodontidae pp 1663-1672. Available: https://www.fao.org/4/y4162e/y4162e33.pdf 
  • Liedke AMR, Pinheiro HT, Floeter, SR, and Bernardi, G (2020) Phylogeography of the banded butterflyfish, Chaetodon striatus, indicates high connectivity between biogeographic provinces and ecosystems in the western Atlantic. Neotropical Ichtyology 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-0224-2019-0054 

 

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