Peppered butterflyfish (Chaetodon guttatissimus)

Classification (WoRMS)

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

Accepted name: Chaetodon guttatissimus · Authority: Bennett, 1833 · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 218722.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Chaetodon maculatus Sauvage, 1891; Choetodon maculatus Sauvage, 1891.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=218722 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

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

Maximum length: 12 cm · Depth range: 3–30 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated · Body shape: short and / or deep · Vulnerability index: 10 of 100 · Fishery importance: commercial · Aquarium trade: commercial.

FishBase notes: Inhabit lagoon and seaward reefs (Ref. 9710). Occur in pairs or small groups (Ref. 9710, 48636). Feed on polychaetes, coral polyps, and algae (Ref. 9710). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Form pairs during breeding (Ref. 205).

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 7791) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Chaetodon-guttatissimus.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

848 georeferenced occurrence records for Chaetodon guttatissimus are published through GBIF from 23 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 113 distinct locations from a sample of 848 records, omitting 8 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: Seychelles (259); Réunion (109); Maldives (98); South Africa (67); Mauritius (45); Mozambique (37); Christmas Island (33); Mayotte (23); Indonesia (22); Kenya (22); Comoros (22); French Southern Territories (21); British Indian Ocean Territory (18); Tanzania, United Republic of (15); India (14).

Marine regions with a valid WoRMS distribution record: Mozambican Exclusive Economic Zone; Mauritian Exclusive Economic Zone; Seychellois Exclusive Economic Zone; Kenyan Exclusive Economic Zone; Réunion Exclusive Economic Zone; Rodrigues; Tanzanian Exclusive Economic Zone; Cargados Carajos; Chagos; South Africa (country); Somali Exclusive Economic Zone; Madagascar; Comoran Exclusive Economic Zone.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2385514) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2385514&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=218722 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Chaetodon guttatissimus Bennett, 1833 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 165619) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/165619/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2385514) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2385514/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-25.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

The peppered butterflyfish is silvery white in colour marked with irregular vertical rows of dark spots or speckles on the flanks, these reorient to a more horizontal plane on the lower flanks. There is a thin, vertical dark bar running through the eye> The rear of the dorsal fin has an orange bar and this reaches the upper part of the caudal peduncle.

The caudal fin has a black submarginal band while the dorsal fin has a yellow margin. The dorsal fin contains 12-13 spines and 22-24 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 16-18 soft rays. This fish attains a maximum total length of 12 cm.

Distribution

The peppered butterflyfish is found in the Indian Ocean where its range extends from the East African coast where it ranges from Somalia to South Africa and across the Indian Ocean as far east as Bali in Indonesia and the Australian territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. It appears to avoid the mainland coasts of Southern Asia but can be found in the Maldives, off Sri Lanka and the Indian islands of the Andamans and the Nicobars and other islands in the Andaman Sea.

Habitat and biology

The peppered butterflyfish is found in coral rich areas in lagoons and seaward reef slopes, where it lives either as solitary individuals or in pairs. It may be encountered in small schools.

It feeds on invertebrates such as polychaetes as well as algae. However, a large part of its diet is coral polyps and it may be an obligate coral eater. It is an oviparous species which breeds in pairs.

Taxonomy

The peppered butterflyfish was first formally described in by the 1833 by the English zoologist Edward Turner Bennett (1797-1836) with the type locality given as Sri Lanka. This is one of the members of the subgenus Exornator. It is part of a close-knit group which also includes the pebbled butterflyfish (C. multicinctus), the spot-banded butterflyfish (C. punctatofasciatus) and the sunset butterflyfish (C. pelewensis).

It is suspected that these four are able to produce fertile hybrids. If the genus Chaetodon is split up, Exornator might become a subgenus of Lepidochaetodon. It is known to hybridise with the spot-banded butterflyfish.

Utilisation and threats

The peppered butterflyfish is difficult to keep in captivity and is rare in the aquarium trade. As a species which is likely to be an obligate corallivore it needs live coral to feed on and it would be expected to suffer population declines following coral die offs or bleaching events. However, an event of this kind in the Seychelles did not lead to an observed decrease in the population of peppered butterflyfish.

Source: Wikipedia: Peppered butterflyfish — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppered_butterflyfish (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.