Thai National Parks

Latticed butterflyfish

Binomial name: Chaetodon rafflesii, Anonymous in Edward Turner Bennett, 1830

The Latticed Butterflyfish (Chaetodon rafflesii) is a species of butterflyfish (family Chaetodontidae). It is found in the Indo-Pacific region from Sri Lanka to the Tuamotu Islands, north to southern Japan, south to the Great Barrier Reef, and from Palau (Belau) to the eastern Caroline Islands in Micronesia.

It grows to a maximum of 18 cm long, but the most common length is 15 cm. The body color is yellow with a cross-hatched pattern of darker lines on the sides; it has a vertical black eyestripe and a vertical black line in the caudal fin. The peculiarly-patterned C. rafflesii belongs to the large subgenus Rabdophorus which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus. In this group, it seems to represent a rather unique lineage, with perhaps just the White-faced Butterflyfish (C. mesoleucos) being less distantly related.

The Latticed Butterflyfish is an uncommon species found in areas of rich coral growth of lagoons and protected reef flats and seaward reefs from 1–20 m depth. It feeds on sea anemones, polychaetes, and octocorallian and scleractinian coral polyps.

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