Butterflyfish Codexery

Melon butterflyfish

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Melon butterflyfish

National Marine Sanctuaries · Public domain

It is also called the Indian redfin butterflyfish.[1] Adults grow to a maximum of 15 cm long and are monogamous, swimming in pairs.[2] Belonging to the Chaetodontidae family, the marine ray-finned fish known as the melon butterflyfish carries the scientific name Chaetodon trifasciatus.[1][3]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassActinopterygii
  4. DivisionTeleostei
  5. OrderAcanthuriformes
  6. FamilyChaetodontidae
  7. GenusChaetodon
  8. GenusChaetodon
  9. SpeciesChaetodon trifasciatus

Named by M. Park, 1797

Close relatives

Other species of Chaetodon with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Melon butterflyfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 218741 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

  1. LC▲ this species
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2010

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Melon butterflyfish and a personA 0.15 m long melon butterflyfish drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.15 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.15 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Melon butterflyfish

Where the melon butterflyfish has been recorded

Where the melon butterflyfish has been recorded142 mapped locations from 4,883 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (4,883 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 5 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 1 isolated far-off record not drawn.

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)

Biology and range

The melon butterflyfish may be territorial and aggressive to other Chaetodon.[2] It belongs to the subgenus Corallochaetodon, of which it is the type species.[4] This subgenus also includes the blacktail butterflyfish, the oval butterflyfish, and probably the Arabian butterflyfish.[4] The blacktail butterflyfish has black caudal and anal fins.[1]

If the genus Chaetodon is split up, these groups might be placed in the genus Megaprotodon.[4] From East Africa all the way to Western Java, the Indian Ocean is where this species lives.[1] Coral polyps, especially those from the Pocillopora genus, make up the entire diet of this fish.[2] Coloration similarities exist between C. trifasciatus and both the oval butterflyfish and the blacktail butterflyfish.[1]

Below the dorsal fin, the oval butterflyfish shows a back patch that is less noticeable, and its anal fin is mostly dark.[1]

What the specialist sources record

The World Register of Marine Species lists Chaetodon trifasciatus as described by Park in 1797, with the status accepted.[3] GBIF also accepts this taxon, placing it in the order Perciformes and family Chaetodontidae.[5] GBIF holds 5,403 occurrence records for this species as of 7 October 2026.[5]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Melon butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Coral reef guide – Red Sea", HarperCollins, London, 2004; (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Melon butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  3. World Register of Marine Species, Chaetodon trifasciatus (AphiaID 218741). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Melon butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Molecular phylogenetics of the butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae): Taxonomy and biogeography of a global coral reef fish family", Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2007, p. 50–68; "Molecular phylogeny of Chaetodon (Teleostei: Chaetodontidae) in the Indo-West Pacific: evolution in geminate species pairs and species groups", Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement, 2007, p. 77–86 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Chaetodon trifasciatus (taxon key 8333642). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Melon butterflyfish (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Same family (Chaetodontidae)

Bank butterflyfish Prognathodes aya, Chelmon marginalis Chelmon marginalis, Chelmon muelleri Chelmon muelleri, Copperband butterflyfish Chelmon rostratus, Forcipiger longirostris Forcipiger longirostris, Hemitaurichthys multispinosus Hemitaurichthys multispinosus

More in Butterflyfish

Chaetodon mertensiiChaetodon mesoleucosMillet butterflyfishMirror butterflyfishChaetodon nigropunctatusChaetodon nipponOman butterflyfishOrnate butterflyfishPearlscale butterflyfishPebbled butterflyfishChaetodon pelewensisPeppered butterflyfish

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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