Gardner's butterflyfish (Chaetodon gardineri)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Teleostei · Order: Acanthuriformes · Family: Chaetodontidae · Genus: Chaetodon.

Accepted name: Chaetodon gardineri · Authority: Norman, 1939 · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 273340.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Chaetodon gardneri Norman, 1939.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=273340 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

Measured values published by FishBase for Chaetodon gardineri. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 17 cm · Depth range: 2–91 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated · Body shape: short and / or deep · Vulnerability index: 10 of 100 · Fishery importance: commercial · Aquarium trade: commercial.

FishBase notes: Found in deep reefs below 25 m, rarely as shallow as 15 m (Ref. 9710). Found in East Indian region at 2-40 m (Ref. 90102). Paired or in groups (Ref. 9710, 48636). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Form pairs during breeding (Ref. 205).

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 12534) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Chaetodon-gardineri.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

22 georeferenced occurrence records for Chaetodon gardineri are published through GBIF from 6 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 9 distinct locations from a sample of 22 records, omitting 3 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: Oman (13); Yemen (3); United Arab Emirates (2); Sri Lanka (2); Somalia (1); Thailand (1).

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2385555) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2385555&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=273340 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Chaetodon gardineri Norman, 1939 as Least Concern (code LC). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 165649) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/165649/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2385555) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2385555/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Chaetodon gardineri has a body which is an overall whitish colour with a black vertical band running through the eye and a black posterior to the body. The dorsal fin is black with a yellow margin, while the anal and caudal fins are yellow. The dorsal fin contains 12 spines and 20-22 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 18-19 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of 17 cm.

Chaetodon gardineri is found in the Indian Ocean from Socotra and the Gulf of Aden and along the coastlines of the Arabian Sea from Oman to Sri Lanka. It has been recorded off northern Sumatra but this is regarded as vagrancy.

Chaetodon gardineri is found at depths of 2 to 65 m, but it is typically encountered at depths of more than 25 m. They are found on reefs on the shallow part of the continental shelf. They are most often recorded as pairs. They breed in pairs and are oviparous. They are omnivorous, feeding on algae, the polyps of stony corals, worms, hydroids, tunicates, crustaceans and other benthic invertebrates.

Chaetodon gardineri was first formally described in 1939 by the English ichthyologist John Roxborough Norman (1898–1944) with the type locality given as Muscat. The specific name honours British zoologist John Stanley Gardiner (1872–1946) who was Secretary to the Committee of the John Murray Expedition to the Indian Ocean in 1933–34, on which the type of this species was collected. This species is tentatively placed in the large subgenus Rabdophorus which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus.

Source: Wikipedia: Chaetodon gardineri — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaetodon_gardineri (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.