Butterflyfish Codexery

Mirror butterflyfish

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Mirror butterflyfish

Rickard Zerpe · CC BY 2.0

Belonging to the Chaetodontidae family, the mirror butterflyfish is scientifically named Chaetodon speculum.[1]

Scientific classification

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

Named by G. Cuvier, 1831

Close relatives

Other species of Chaetodon with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Mirror butterflyfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 218740 (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: Mirror butterflyfish and a personA 0.18 m long mirror butterflyfish drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.18 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.18 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

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

Where the mirror butterflyfish has been recorded

Where the mirror butterflyfish has been recorded196 mapped locations from 2,166 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (2,166 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 21 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 3 isolated far-off records not drawn.

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

Biology and range

Coral reefs at depths ranging from 3 to 30 m are the typical habitat for the mirror butterflyfish.[1] This species is generally found alone and is not commonly seen.[1] French anatomist Georges Cuvier provided the first formal description of this species in 1831, listing Jakarta as the type locality.[1]

What the specialist sources record

The Fishes of Australia account classifies Chaetodon speculum under Actinopterygii, Perciformes, Chaetodontidae.[2] Dianne J. Bray authored the Fishes of Australia species entry for this fish.[2] The species citation is Chaetodon speculum Cuvier 1831, from Histoire Naturelle des Poissons volume 7, page 73.[2] The World Register of Marine Species lists Chaetodon speculum as accepted, family Chaetodontidae, order Acanthuriformes, class Teleostei, environment marine.[3]

GBIF holds 2,539 occurrence records for this taxon as of 7 October 2026.[4]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Mirror butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Dianne J. Bray, "Chaetodon speculum", Fishes of Australia. facts only, no text reused. fishesofaustralia.net.au
  3. World Register of Marine Species, Chaetodon speculum (AphiaID 218740). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  4. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Chaetodon speculum (taxon key 2385315). 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 Mirror 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 nigropunctatusChaetodon nipponOman butterflyfishOrnate butterflyfishPearlscale butterflyfishPebbled butterflyfishChaetodon pelewensisPeppered butterflyfishPhilippine butterflyfishRaccoon butterflyfishChaetodon rainfordiRedtail butterflyfish

Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In what year was the mirror butterflyfish first scientifically described?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1831.

2. To which genus does the mirror butterflyfish belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Chaetodon.

3. Who first scientifically described the mirror butterflyfish?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Georges Cuvier.

Answers checked against the source article

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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