Scrawled butterflyfish

Chaetodon meyeri

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth4–22 m
Water temperature24–30 °C
Best monthsFebruary, March, and April
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) zsispeo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

The scrawled butterflyfish, also known as Meyer's butterflyfish or the maypole butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Scrawled butterflyfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 137 records
February: 277 records
March: 206 records
April: 181 records
May: 111 records
June: 146 records
July: 93 records
August: 68 records
September: 96 records
October: 120 records
November: 96 records
December: 99 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–22 m · Deepest record: 747 m

0–10 m: 190 records
10–20 m: 306 records
20–30 m: 118 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 24–30 °C

22–24 °C: 1 records
24–26 °C: 15 records
26–28 °C: 250 records
28–30 °C: 218 records

Photos

(c) zsispeo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Rose Zappa, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Nino, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) desertnaturalist, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bernard DUPONT, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Scrawled butterflyfish, Maypole Butterflyfish, Meyer's Butterfly, Meyer's Butterflyfish, Meyer's Coralfish, scrawled butterflyfish

Names in 6 more languages

German: Gebänderter Falterfisch
Spanish: Mariposa de Meyer, Pez Mariposa de Meyer
French: Chétodon de Meyer, Papillon de Meyer, Poisson-papillon de Meyer
Japanese: Ogichochouo, Ôgi-chôchô-uo, オウギチョウチョウウオ
Thai: ปลาผีเสื้อลายเสือ
Simplified Chinese: 麥氏蝴蝶魚, 黑斜紋蝶

Other scientific names: Holacanthus flavoniger

Similar species

Threadfin butterflyfish
Chaetodon auriga
Citron Butterfly
Chaetodon citrinellus
Blackblotch Butterflyfish
Chaetodon ephippium
Sunburst butterflyfish
Chaetodon kleinii
Raccoon butterflyfish
Chaetodon lunula
Oval Butterflyfish
Chaetodon lunulatus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,424 open-data records from 1950 to 2021.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist