Butterflyfish Codexery

Scrawled butterflyfish

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Scrawled butterflyfish

Diego Delso · via Wikipedia: Scrawled butterflyfish · CC BY-SA 4.0

The body of the scrawled butterflyfish is whitish or bluish-white, with curved black bars (the curve pointing toward the rear) and diagonal black bars on its sides.[1] The maximum total length reached by this species is 20 cm.[2]

Scientific classification

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

Named by Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801

Close relatives

Other species of Chaetodon with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Scrawled butterflyfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 218752 (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: Scrawled butterflyfish and a personA 0.2 m long scrawled butterflyfish drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.2 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.2 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

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

Where the scrawled butterflyfish has been recorded

Where the scrawled butterflyfish has been recorded205 mapped locations from 2,250 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Pacific Ocean, Revillagigedo IslandsPacific OceanRevillagigedo Islands

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (2,250 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 12 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Biology and range

This species' distribution covers the Indo-Pacific region.[3] At the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) and the Revillagigedo Islands (Mexico) in the eastern Pacific Ocean, vagrant individuals have been recorded.[3] Depths from 2 to 25 m, in clear lagoons and seaward reefs with abundant coral, are where this fish lives.[4] Breeding occurs in pairs, and the species is oviparous.[4]

What the specialist sources record

The Fishes of Australia account classifies this species as Chaetodon meyeri in the family Chaetodontidae.[5] The World Register of Marine Species lists it as Chaetodon meyeri Bloch & Schneider, 1801, in the order Acanthuriformes.[6] GBIF holds 2,454 occurrence records for this taxon as of 7 October 2026.[7] According to the Fishes of Australia account, this species is an obligate corallivore that might eat coral mucus rather than coral tissue.[5]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Scrawled butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dianne J. Bray, "Chaetodon meyeri", Fishes of Australia (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Scrawled butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Scrawled butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Myers, R.F., "Chaetodon meyeri", 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Scrawled butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Dianne J. Bray, "Chaetodon meyeri", Fishes of Australia (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Dianne J. Bray, "Chaetodon meyeri", Fishes of Australia. facts only, no text reused. fishesofaustralia.net.au
  6. World Register of Marine Species, Chaetodon meyeri (AphiaID 218752). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  7. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Chaetodon meyeri (taxon key 2385494). 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 Scrawled 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

Named in this entry

Genus

More in Butterflyfish

Chaetodon smithiSpeckled butterflyfishSpotband butterflyfishSpot-nape butterflyfishSpot-tail butterflyfishSunburst butterflyfishTeardrop butterflyfishThreadfin butterflyfishChaetodon triangulumChaetodon ulietensisVagabond butterflyfishWest Australian butterflyfish

Test yourself

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

1. What is the scientific name of the scrawled butterflyfish?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Chaetodon meyeri.

2. To which biological family does the scrawled butterflyfish belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Chaetodontidae.

3. Who first scientifically described the scrawled butterflyfish?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Marcus Elieser Bloch.

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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