The Scrawled Butterflyfish (Chaetodon meyeri), also known as Meyer’s Butterflyfish or the Maypole Butterflyfish, is a captivating marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. Let’s dive into some fascinating details about this elusive fish:
- Description: The Scrawled Butterflyfish has a whitish or bluish-white body marked with curved and diagonal black bars on its flanks. A yellow-edged black bar runs through the eye, and a similar bar adorns the snout around the mouth. It has 12-13 spines and 23-25 soft rays in its dorsal fin and 3 spines and 18-20 soft rays in its anal fin. This species attains a maximum total length of 20 centimeters (7.9 inches).
- Distribution: It is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, ranging from the eastern coast of Africa (from Somalia to Durban) across to the Line Islands and Hawaii. Its habitat extends north to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan and south to the Great Barrier Reef, New Caledonia, and Tonga. Vagrants have even been recorded in the eastern Pacific Ocean at the Galapagos Islands and the Revillagigedo Islands of Mexico.
- Habitat and Biology: The Scrawled Butterflyfish inhabits depths between 2 and 25 meters (6.6 and 82.0 feet), favoring areas rich in coral within clear lagoons and seaward reefs. Juveniles are typically solitary and live among branching corals, while adults form pairs and establish home ranges. They are oviparous and breed in pairs. This beautiful butterflyfish is a true gem in the underwater world!
