Latticed butterflyfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Latticed butterflyfish |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Chaetodon
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| Species: |
rafflesii
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The latticed butterflyfish (Chaetodon rafflesii) is a type of butterflyfish that lives in the ocean. It is also known as Raffles’ coralfish. You can find this colorful fish in the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific region.
What Does It Look Like?
The latticed butterflyfish is mostly yellow. It has dark edges on its scales, which make a cool criss-cross pattern on its sides, like a lattice!
It has a black stripe that goes vertically through its eye. There is also a blue patch on its forehead. The back fin (called the dorsal fin) has a dark band near its edge. The tail fin (called the caudal fin) has a wide black stripe in its middle.
Sometimes, you might see a black spot under the front part of its dorsal fin. Young latticed butterflyfish have a dark spot on the softer, back part of their dorsal fin.
This fish usually grows to about 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long, but some can reach up to 18 centimetres (7.1 in).
Where Does It Live?
The latticed butterflyfish lives in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. You can find it from places like Sri Lanka all the way to the Tuamotu Islands. It also lives north near southern Japan and south near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It is also found around islands like Palau and the eastern Caroline Islands in Micronesia.
Habitat and Life
This butterflyfish is not very common. It likes to live in places with lots of coral growth. You can find it in calm lagoons, protected reef flats, and outer reefs. They usually live in water that is between 1–20 metres (3.3–65.6 ft) deep.
The latticed butterflyfish eats small sea creatures. Its diet includes sea anemones, small worms (called polychaetes), and parts of corals. These fish are usually seen swimming around in pairs.
How It Got Its Name
The latticed butterflyfish was first described a long time ago, in 1830. It was named after Sir Stamford Raffles. He was a British statesman and helped start the Zoological Society of London. He hired scientists to collect animal and plant samples. It is thought that the description of this fish was written by Edward Turner Bennett. The name rafflesii honors Sir Stamford Raffles.
