Chaetodon ephippium

Saddled butterflyfish | Blackblotch Butterflyfish
Chaetodon ephippium
Chaetodon ephippium, adult, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Photo: Andrew Green
Chaetodon ephippium
Chaetodon ephippium, adult, Bali, Indonesia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Chaetodon ephippium
Chaetodon ephippium, adult, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
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Chaetodon ephippium
Chaetodon ephippium
Chaetodon ephippium

Distribution

Tropical Indo-Pacific


Description

Grey with a large white-edged black patch on upper rear dorsal quadrant, yellow snout and breast, blue lines on lower half of body and behind operculum. Tail transparent with orange on tail base.


Information

Max Size: 30 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 23-31.2°C

Depth: 0-30m

Habitat Generalization Index: 15.52

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 (20.4% 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