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Australian Wildlife

  Oval-spot Butterflyfish (Chaetodon speculum)





Oval-spot Butterflyfish | Chaetodon speculum photo
Mirror Butterfly Fish Chaetodon speculum,

Image by Jenny Huang - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Oval-spot Butterflyfish | Chaetodon speculum photo
Mirror butterflyfish. Underwater photograph, Kubu, Bali, Indonesia

Image by Bernard E. Picton - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







FISH FACTS

Description
The Oval-spot Butterflyfish is a bright yellow fish with a large oval black mark at the rear upper side of the body. IT has a bold vertical black stripe on the head through the eye. The fins are all yellow. It has a compressed body.

Other Names
Mirror butterflyfish

Size
length to 18cm

Habitat
Coastal reef slopes with hydroids and anemones. Juveniles shelter in coral thickets. Usually solitary. Found at depths from 3m to 30m

Food
coral polyps and invertebrates

Breeding
Oviparous. Forms monogamous pairs during breeding.

Range
The Oval-spot Butterflyfish is found on coral reefs in the eastern Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific. In Australia it is found off central to northern coast of Western Australia and the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.



Classification
Class:Actinopterygii
Order:Perciformes
Family:Chaetodontidae
Genus:Chaetodon
Species:speculum
Common Name:Oval-spot Butterflyfish

Relatives in same Genus
  Threadfin Butterflyfish (C. auriga)
  Eastern Triangular Butterflyfish (C. baronessa)
  Bennett's Butterflyfish (C. bennetti)
  Speckled Butterflyfish (C. citrinellus)
  Saddled Butterflyfish (C. ephippium)
  Dusky Butterflyfish (C. flavirostris)
  Klein's Butterflyfish (C. kleinii)
  Redfin Butterflyfish (C. lunulatus)
  Eight-banded Butterflyfish (C. octofasciatus)
  Ornate Butterflyfish (C. ornatissimus)
  Latticed Butterflyfish (C. rafflesii)
  Dotted Butterflyfish (C. semeion)
  Chevroned Butterflyfish (C. trifascialis)
  Double-saddle Butterflyfish (C. ulietensis)
  Teardrop Butterflyfish (C. unimaculatus)
  Vagabond Butterflyfish (C. vagabundus)