emperor butterflyfish
Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus
- Usual depth2–30 m
- Water temperature25–30 °C
- Best monthsSeptember, October, and December
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
About this species
Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus, the vermiculated angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the Indo-West Pacific region.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus”, 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: 39 records
- February: 40 records
- March: 64 records
- April: 51 records
- May: 68 records
- June: 47 records
- July: 67 records
- August: 52 records
- September: 95 records
- October: 77 records
- November: 60 records
- December: 71 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 2–30 m · Deepest record: 53 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–30 °C
Photos
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Ben Costamagna, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Patrick O'Brien, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Pierre Pericard, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ben Costamagna, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- emperor butterflyfish, Red Sea Butterflyfish, Vermiculate Angelfish, Vermiculated Angelfish
Names in 2 more languages
- Japanese
- Chirimen-yakko, チリメンヤッコ
- Simplified Chinese
- 中白荷包魚, 黃尾荷包魚
Other scientific names: Chaetodon mesoleucus, Chaetodontoplus mesoleucos
Similar species
Blue-spotted AngelfishChaetodontoplus caeruleopunctatus
Black-velvet AngelfishChaetodontoplus melanosoma
Coral BeautyCentropyge bispinosa
Lemon PeelCentropyge flavissima
Regal angelfishPygoplites diacanthus
Threespot angelfishApolemichthys trimaculatus
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).
- 278 open-data records from 1908 to 2021.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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