Vagabond butterflyfish (Chaetodon vagabundus)

Classification (WoRMS)

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

Accepted name: Chaetodon vagabundus · Authority: Linnaeus, 1758 · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 218754.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Anisochaetodon vagabundus (Linnaeus, 1758); Chaetodon mesogallicus Cuvier, 1829; Chaetodon nesogallicus Cuvier, 1829; Chaetodon setifer hawaiiensis Borodin, 1930; Chaetodon vugabundus Linnaeus, 1758; Tetragonoptrus nesogallicus (Cuvier, 1829); Tetragonoptrus vagabundus (Linnaeus, 1758).

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=218754 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

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

Maximum length: 23 cm · Common length: 15 cm · Depth range: 0–30 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated · Body shape: short and / or deep · Vulnerability index: 13 of 100 · Fishery importance: minor commercial · Aquarium trade: commercial.

FishBase notes: Adults are found in reef flats, lagoon and seaward reefs and sometimes in turbid waters subject to freshwater runoff swimming in pairs. They are omnivorous, feeding on algae, coral polyps, crustaceans and worms (Ref. 5503). They are oviparous (Ref. 205) and monogamous (Ref. 52884). Stable monogamous pairs with both pair members jointly defending a feeding territory against other pairs (Ref. 58331) occur, but often accompany other species without being aggressive. They are easily maintained in tanks. Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 5582) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Chaetodon-vagabundus.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

8,936 georeferenced occurrence records for Chaetodon vagabundus are published through GBIF from 55 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 349 distinct locations from a sample of 3,000 records, omitting 51 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: Australia (2,885); French Polynesia (841); New Caledonia (548); Indonesia (545); Fiji (482).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2385564) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2385564&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=218754 (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 vagabundus Linnaeus, 1758 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 165630) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/165630/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2385564) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2385564/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

The vagabond butterflyfish has a whitish body which is marked with two series of thin dark diagonal lines perpendicular to each other, forming a chevron pattern. There is also a wide black vertical band running through the eye and a second band running through the caudal peduncle and a third on the centre of the caudal fin. There are very thin orange horizontal lines over the forehead. The juveniles have a black dot on the soft-rayed part of their dorsal fin, near the posterior end. The dorsal fin contains 13 spines and 23-25 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 19-22 soft rays. This species grows to a maximum total length of 23 cm although a more typical length would be 15 cm.

The vagabond butterflyfish is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It occurs from the eastern coast of Africa, where it is found from Socotra to KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa; across the Indian Ocean east as far as the Line and Gambier Islands in Polynesia, north to southern Japan and south to New South Wales and Rapa Iti.

The vagabond butterflyfish is found in reef areas including coastal reef flats within the reef, lagoons and more exposed outer reef slopes. It can tolerate a variety of environmental conditions, such as turbid waters and freshwater plumes in the vicinity of the mouths of streams. They are omnivorous, known to feed on algae, coral polyps, crustaceans and worms. These oviparous, monogamous fish form stable pairs with both pair members jointly defending a feeding territory against other pairs. However they often accompany other species without being aggressive. By the standards of their genus, they are easily maintained in tanks.

The vagabond butterflyfish was first formally described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. It belongs to the large subgenus Rabdophorus which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus. In this group, it almost certainly is a rather close relative of the threadfin butterflyfish (C. auriga) and the Indian vagabond butterflyfish (C. decussatus). The latter might be closer to the threadfin butterflyfish; as C. vagabundus has yielded abnormal mtDNA 12S rRNA sequence data this is hard to say however. The C. auriga species group shares the characteristic pattern of two areas of ascending and descending oblique lines; species differ conspicuously in hindpart coloration.

Source: Wikipedia: Vagabond butterflyfish — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagabond_butterflyfish (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.