Chaetodon auriga, Adult, Aceh, Indonesia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Chaetodon auriga, Juvenile, Narooma, NSW, Photo: Andrew Green
Chaetodon auriga, Adult, NSW, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
White with yellow rear, extended rays on rear of dorsal fin creating a filament, and often black spot on rear dorsal fin. Differs from C. vagabundus (Vagabond Butterflyfish) in having dorsal filament, and lacking a black bar extending across tail base onto anal fin base.
Information
Max Size: 23 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 19.1-31.2°C
Depth: 1-60m
Habitat: Coral Reef
Habitat Generalisation Index: 23.1
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 (30% 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