Chaetodon rainfordi

Lore & Background

Chaetodon rainfordi was first formally described in 1923 by Australian ichthyologist Allan Riverstone McCulloch, with the type locality given as Holbourne Island, off Port Denison, Queensland. The specific name honors amateur naturalist and viticulturist Edward Henry Rainford, who provided fish specimens to the Australian Museum, including the type of this species. It is a close relative of the golden butterflyfish (C. aureofasciatus) and the eightband butterflyfish (C. octofasciatus), and together with the three-striped butterflyfish (C. tricinctus) forms the subgenus Discochaetodon.

Reader's Guide

Chaetodon rainfordi is rarely found in the aquarium trade and is difficult to keep due to its specialized diet of only coral polyps. Its reliance on coral makes it vulnerable to climate-induced coral die-offs, and inshore habitat loss from sedimentation caused by anthropogenic activities has led to local extinctions in some areas. The IUCN classifies this species as Near Threatened. Its distribution includes southern Papua New Guinea, the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland, south to the Solitary Islands and Surgeons Reef off Red Rock, New South Wales, and Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. It lives among coastal and offshore reefs at depths between 5 and 20 meters, with juveniles inhabiting branching corals. It is oviparous and forms pairs for breeding.

Did You Know?

• Chaetodon rainfordi attains a maximum total length of 15 cm (5.9 in).
• It is an obligate corallivore, feeding only on coral polyps.
• The species was first described in 1923 by Allan Riverstone McCulloch.
• It is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN.