Black-spotted Butterflyfish
Chaetodon nigropunctatus
- Water temperature26–28 °C
- Best monthsFebruary and March
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Parviz Tavakoli Kolour, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Chaetodon nigropunctatus, the black-dotted butterflyfish, is a species off marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish, belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the north western Indian Ocean.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Chaetodon nigropunctatus”, 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: 3 records
- February: 14 records
- March: 13 records
- April: 5 records
- May: 2 records
- June: 0 records
- July: 5 records
- August: 8 records
- September: 4 records
- October: 7 records
- November: 5 records
- December: 8 records
Depth and water temperature
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 26–28 °C
Photos
(c) Julien Renoult, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Julien Renoult, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Black-spotted Butterflyfish, Dark Butterflyfish, Japanese Butterflyfish, Mystery Butterflyfish
Names in 2 more languages
- German
- Schwarzpunkt-Falterfisch
- Spanish
- Pez Mariposa de Puntos Negros
Other scientific names: Chaetodon obscurus
Similar species
Threadfin butterflyfishChaetodon auriga
Citron ButterflyChaetodon citrinellus
Blackblotch ButterflyfishChaetodon ephippium
Sunburst butterflyfishChaetodon kleinii
Raccoon butterflyfishChaetodon lunula
Oval ButterflyfishChaetodon 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).
- 41 open-data records from 2013 to 2013.
- Species data updated November 1, 2026.
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