Butterflyfish Codexery

Vagabond butterflyfish

A chevron-patterned butterflyfish of Indo-Pacific reefs.

Last updated

Vagabond butterflyfish

Dr. Dwayne Meadows, NOAA/NMFS/OPR · via Wikipedia: Vagabond butterflyfish · Public domain

A whitish body is marked by two sets of thin, dark, perpendicular diagonal lines that create a chevron pattern on the vagabond butterflyfish.[1] Maximum total length reaches 23 cm, but 15 cm is the more usual size.[2]

Scientific classification

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

Named by Linnaeus, 1758

Close relatives

Other species of Chaetodon with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Vagabond butterflyfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 218754 (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: Vagabond butterflyfish and a personA 0.23 m long vagabond butterflyfish drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.23 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.23 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

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

Where the vagabond butterflyfish has been recorded

Where the vagabond butterflyfish has been recorded242 mapped locations from 8,936 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (8,936 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 33 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

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

Biology and range

It tolerates turbid waters and freshwater plumes near stream mouths.[1] The Indian and Pacific Oceans are home to this species.[3] Reef areas such as inner coastal reef flats, lagoons, and outer seaward reef slopes are where the vagabond butterflyfish lives.[1][4] Algae, coral polyps, crustaceans, and worms make up the omnivorous diet of these fish.[1]

Stable pairs that jointly defend a feeding territory are formed by these oviparous, monogamous fish.[2] Near the posterior end of the soft-rayed part of the dorsal fin, a black dot is present on juveniles.[1]

What the specialist sources record

The Fishes of Australia account notes the species is widespread and often abundant in the Indo-west-central Pacific.[4] It gives the dorsal fin formula as XIII, 23-15 and the anal fin formula as III, 19-22.[4] The World Register of Marine Species lists the species as Chaetodon vagabundus Linnaeus, 1758, family Chaetodontidae, order Acanthuriformes.[5] GBIF records 10,103 occurrence records for this taxon as of 7 October 2026.[6]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Vagabond butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dianne J. Bray, "Chaetodon vagabundus", Fishes of Australia (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Vagabond butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Vagabond butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Myers, R.F., "Chaetodon vagabundus", 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Dianne J. Bray, "Chaetodon vagabundus", Fishes of Australia. facts only, no text reused. fishesofaustralia.net.au
  5. World Register of Marine Species, Chaetodon vagabundus (AphiaID 218754). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  6. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Chaetodon vagabundus (taxon key 2385564). 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 Vagabond 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

Named in this entry

ChaetodonGenus

More in Butterflyfish

West Australian butterflyfishChaetodon wiebeliYellow teardrop butterflyfishYellow-dotted butterflyfishYellowhead butterflyfishChaetodon zanzibarensisCopperband butterflyfishChelmon marginalisChelmon muelleriForcipiger longirostrisYellow longnose butterflyfishHemitaurichthys multispinosus

Test yourself

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

1. Who first scientifically described the vagabond butterflyfish?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carl Linnaeus.

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

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Chaetodontidae.

3. In what year was the vagabond butterflyfish first scientifically described?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1758.

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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