Blueblotch Butterflyfish
Chaetodon plebeius
- Usual depth4–8 m
- Water temperature21–30 °C
- Best monthsSeptember, October, and November
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Susan Prior, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Susan Prior · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The blueblotch butterflyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It has various names such as bluespot butterflyfish, bluedash butterflyfish or grey-blotched butterflyfish.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Blueblotch 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: 130 records
- February: 113 records
- March: 130 records
- April: 143 records
- May: 128 records
- June: 120 records
- July: 168 records
- August: 116 records
- September: 203 records
- October: 204 records
- November: 205 records
- December: 135 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 4–8 m · Deepest record: 26 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 21–30 °C
Photos
(c) cello caruso-turiello, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Susan Prior, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Bruce Deagle, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Susan Prior, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Hayes Valentine, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) jeyre, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Blueblotch Butterflyfish, Blue-blotched Butterfly-fish, Blueblotched Butterflyfish, Blue-dash Butterflyfish, Blue-spot Butterflyfish, Bluespot Butterflyfish, Coral Butterflyfish, Grey Blotched Butterflyfish, Two-spot Coralfish
Names in 5 more languages
- German
- Blaupunkt-Falterfisch
- Spanish
- Pez Mariposa Plebeya
- French
- Chétodon à deux taches, Poisson-papillon à tache bleue
- Japanese
- Sumitsuki-tonosamadai, Sumitsukitonosamadai, スミツキトノサマダイ
- Simplified Chinese
- 四棘蝴蝶魚, 四棘蝴蝶鱼, 藍斑蝴蝶魚, 藍腰蝶, 雲蝶
Other scientific names: Chaetodon cordiformis, Chaetodon plebelus, Megaprotodon maculiceps, Megaprotodon plebeius
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).
- 2,522 open-data records from 1958 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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