Where Blackback butterflyfish has been recorded
GBIF occurrence records for Chaetodon melannotus, mapped and tabulated by country.
5,817 georeferenced occurrence records with coordinates are published for Chaetodon melannotus through GBIF, from 55 countries or marine areas. This page maps those records and lists where they come from. Occurrence records reflect where people have looked as well as where the species lives, so well-surveyed coastlines are over-represented.
- Georeferenced records
- 5,817
- Countries / areas
- 55
- Mapped locations
- 326
- Records sampled for the map
- 3,000
- Inland records omitted
- 28
- Gbif taxonkey
- 2385556
Countries and areas with the most records (GBIF)
Australia — 3,134 records; New Caledonia — 379 records; Indonesia — 368 records; Egypt — 344 records; Tonga — 254 records; Fiji — 172 records; Norfolk Island — 91 records; Palau — 89 records; Philippines — 78 records; Japan — 76 records; Seychelles — 72 records; Réunion — 65 records; Chinese Taipei — 60 records; Guam — 59 records; American Samoa — 49 records.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2385556) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2385556&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Marine regions with a WoRMS distribution record
Mozambican Exclusive Economic Zone; Mauritian Exclusive Economic Zone; Seychellois Exclusive Economic Zone; Kenyan Exclusive Economic Zone; Réunion Exclusive Economic Zone; East Africa; Red Sea; Cargados Carajos; South Africa (country); Chagos; Rodrigues; Madagascar.
Source: WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=218743 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
How to read this map
The map plots a sample of 3,000 of the 5,817 records, deduplicated to a half-degree grid, so dense areas do not merge into one blob. The sample covers 43 of the 55 countries or areas with records; the areas absent from the sample hold 37 records in total (Wallis and Futuna, French Southern Territories, South Africa, Djibouti, French Polynesia, United States of America, Yemen, Christmas Island).
28 records plotting inland were omitted: for a marine species those are almost always the holding institution's coordinates rather than a collection site.
Records show where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2385556) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2385556&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=218743 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many countries or marine areas have Blackback butterflyfish records on file?
The GBIF dataset behind this page lists 5,817 georeferenced occurrence records for Chaetodon melannotus spread across 55 countries or marine areas. The fan-encyclopedia distills those into 326 distinct mapped locations for easy reference.
Where do the Blackback butterflyfish distribution records come from?
Every coordinate on this page is pulled from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), which aggregates museum collections, research surveys, and citizen-science observations under taxon key 2385556. No single institution owns the data; it is a community-wide compilation.
Why does the Blackback butterflyfish map only plot 3,000 of the 5,817 records?
The map samples 3,000 points to keep the visualization legible and fast to load, while the full 5,817-record table remains available below. An additional 28 inland coordinates that are almost certainly data-entry errors were dropped from the display entirely.
Does the Blackback butterflyfish distribution map show exactly where the species lives?
Not precisely — occurrence records track where people have actually looked, so well-surveyed coastlines naturally show up more often. Empty patches on the map may simply reflect a lack of sampling rather than true absence of the fish.
How many mapped locations are listed for Blackback butterflyfish?
The page plots 326 individual mapped locations drawn from the GBIF occurrence dataset. Together with the country-level tabulation, those points give fans a practical snapshot of the species' documented range across 55 countries or marine areas.
Related in Blackback butterflyfish
Links follow this subject's own source article.
Elsewhere in Blackback butterflyfish
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced