Chaetodon lunulatus, Oval butterflyfish

Chaetodon lunulatus Quoy & Gaimard, 1825

Oval butterflyfish
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Chaetodon lunulatus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Acanthuriformes (Surgeonfishes) > Chaetodontidae (Butterflyfishes)
Etymology: Chaetodon: Greek, chaite = hair + Greek, odous = teeth (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Quoy & Gaimard.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 60 m (Ref. 128797). Tropical; 37°N - 32°S, 95°E - 134°W

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Pacific Ocean: widespread from Japan and Australia to the Tuamoto Islands and Hawaii. Replaced by Chaetodon trifasciatus in the Indian Ocean (Ref. 37816). DNA (from tissue samples) expected to further distinguished Chaetodon lunulatus and Chaetodon trifasciatus (Ref. 86689).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 8 - 8.4 cm
Max length : 26.7 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 124696); max. published weight: 191.24 g (Ref. 124696); max. reported age: 12 years (Ref. 56281)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 13 - 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 20 - 22; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 18 - 21.
Body shape (shape guide): short and / or deep.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occur in monogamous pairs in coastal coral-rich areas (Ref. 47838, 48636). Juveniles hide among branches of small corals, often in lagoons (Ref. 9407). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Feed solely on live corals (Ref. 47838). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Form pairs during breeding (Ref. 205).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Pairs form upon maturation for breeding purposes (Ref. 56281).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Allen, G.R., R. Steene and M. Allen, 1998. A guide to angelfishes and butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. 250 p. (Ref. 47838)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 07 October 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index
(Ref. 82804) 		PD50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight a=0.02291 (0.01128 - 0.04653), b=3.00 (2.83 - 3.17), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level
(Ref. 69278) 		3.3   ±0.61 se; based on food items.
Resilience
(Ref. 120179) 		High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.3-1.9; tmax=12;).
Fishing Vulnerability
(Ref. 59153) 		Moderate vulnerability (36 of 100). 🛈
Nutrients
(Ref. 124155) 		Calcium = 146 [71, 260] mg/100g; Iron = 1.15 [0.64, 2.07] mg/100g; Protein = 18.7 [17.4, 19.9] %; Omega3 = 0.117 [0.060, 0.229] g/100g; Selenium = 44.1 [20.5, 94.6] μg/100g; VitaminA = 30.4 [7.8, 118.9] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.79 [1.12, 2.78] mg/100g (wet weight);