Blueblotch butterflyfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blueblotch butterflyfish |
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| Conservation status | |
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| Genus: |
Chaetodon
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| Species: |
plebeius
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The blueblotch butterflyfish (Chaetodon plebeius) is a very colorful fish. It is also known as the bluespot, bluedash, or grey-blotched butterflyfish. This fish lives in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. It is a type of ray-finned fish and belongs to the family of butterflyfishes, called Chaetodontidae.
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What Does the Blueblotch Butterflyfish Look Like?
The blueblotch butterflyfish has a bright yellow body. It has a big, long blue patch on its side. This patch is above the middle of its body. There is also a black spot on its tail base. This spot has bluish-white edges. A black stripe with bluish-white edges runs vertically through its eye.
Its fins are also bright yellow. These include the dorsal fin (on its back), anal fin (on its belly), pelvic fins (near its chest), and caudal fin (tail fin). Young blueblotch butterflyfish do not have the blue patch on their sides. This fish can grow up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long.
Where Does This Fish Live?
The blueblotch butterflyfish lives in the western Pacific Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean. You can find it from Vietnam all the way east to Fiji. It lives north of southern Japan and south of Australia. It is not common in Indonesia, except for northern Papua.
In Australia, this fish is found from Rottnest Island in Western Australia up to the Dampier Archipelago. It also lives from the northern Great Barrier Reef down to Arrawarra Headland in New South Wales. You can also spot it on reefs in the Coral Sea, Elizabeth Reef, Middleton Reef, and Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.
Home and Habits of the Blueblotch Butterflyfish
This fish lives in many different coral reef areas. You can find it in shallow lagoons or on the outer parts of reefs. They can be seen alone or in pairs. Adult fish mostly eat coral polyps, especially from Pocillopora corals. They also eat Acropora corals and some green algae.
Young blueblotch butterflyfish act as cleaner fish. This means they remove tiny ectoparasites (small creatures that live on the outside of other fish) from other fish species. These fish usually live in water up to 14 metres (46 ft) deep.
How Scientists Classify This Fish
The blueblotch butterflyfish was first officially described in 1831. A French scientist named Georges Cuvier gave it its scientific name. It was found in the "South Seas." This fish belongs to a group of butterflyfishes called Tetrachaetodon. These fish often have yellow bodies, black eye stripes, and a unique colored patch.
