Butterflyfish Codexery

Yellow-dotted butterflyfish

A poorly known butterflyfish with age-fading black bars and yellow fins.

Last updated

Yellow-dotted butterflyfish

Bernard E. Picton BernardP · via Wikipedia: Yellow-dotted butterflyfish · CC BY-SA 4.0

This species is not considered reef tank suitable.[1] Diagonal lines of greyish spots mark the whitish body of this species.[2] The maximum total length for this small butterflyfish is 16 cm.[3]

Scientific classification

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

Named by Bleeker, 1853

Close relatives

Other species of Chaetodon with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Yellow-dotted butterflyfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 218749 (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

Where the yellow-dotted butterflyfish has been recorded

Where the yellow-dotted butterflyfish has been recorded30 mapped locations from 86 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Ryukyu Islands, Ōtsuki, KōchiRyukyu IslandsŌtsuki, Kōchi

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (86 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 8 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)

Quick Facts

Genus
Chaetodon
Parent
Chaetodon (Rabdophorus)
Species
selene

Facts from the source article.

Biology and range

It inhabits coastal coral and rubble containing slopes at depths of about 3 to 75 m.[1] Adults prefer rubble or sandy bottoms.[4] The black bars are more obvious in juveniles and fade with age, revealing brownish bands.[5] From northern Java east to Papua New Guinea's north coast, and north to Taiwan, the Ryukyu Islands, and Kashiwa-jima in southern Japan, the yellow-dotted butterflyfish occurs throughout the Indo-Malayan region.[6]

Pairs are the typical social grouping for adults, whereas solitary juveniles are seen near coral outcrops.[4] Tunicates, sea squirts, various benthic invertebrates, small amounts of algae, and coral polyps constitute the diet of this fish.[4]

What the specialist sources record

The Saltcorner account describes the body as whitish with slanted lines of yellow dots and a black eye band edged in yellow.[1] The same source reports a depth range of about 3 to 75 m, with fish usually collected at about 15 m.[1] The GBIF database holds 198 occurrence records for this taxon as of October 2026.[7] The WoRMS database lists Chaetodon selene Bleeker, 1853 as an accepted species in the family Chaetodontidae.[8]

The Saltcorner account notes this species is not reef tank suitable and is likely fish-only tank suitable.[1]

References

  1. "Chaetodon selene", Saltcorner, 2012. facts only, no text reused. saltcorner.com
  2. Wikipedia, "Yellow-dotted butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Chaetodon selene", Saltcorner, 2012 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Yellow-dotted butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Yellow-dotted butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Myers, R.F., "Chaetodon selene", 2010; "Chaetodon selene", Saltcorner, 2012; "Chaetodon selene", De Jong Marinelife (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Yellow-dotted butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Chaetodon selene", De Jong Marinelife (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Yellow-dotted butterflyfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Myers, R.F., "Chaetodon selene", 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Chaetodon selene (taxon key 2385493). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org
  8. World Register of Marine Species, Chaetodon selene (AphiaID 218749). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Yellow-dotted 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

Chaetodon

More in Butterflyfish

Yellowhead butterflyfishChaetodon zanzibarensisCopperband butterflyfishChelmon marginalisChelmon muelleriForcipiger longirostrisYellow longnose butterflyfishHemitaurichthys multispinosusPyramid butterflyfishHemitaurichthys zosterHeniochus chrysostomusHeniochus monoceros

Test yourself

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

1. To which genus does the yellow-dotted butterflyfish belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Chaetodon.

2. What is the scientific name of the yellow-dotted butterflyfish?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Chaetodon selene.

3. In what year was the yellow-dotted butterflyfish first scientifically described?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1853.

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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