Copperband butterflyfish

Chelmon rostratus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth4–38 m
Water temperature23–30 °C
Best monthsJanuary, April, and October
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The copperband butterflyfish, also known as the beaked coral fish, is found in reefs in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. This butterflyfish is one of the three species that make up the genus Chelmon and all have long beaks.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Copperband 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: 167 records
February: 107 records
March: 141 records
April: 168 records
May: 161 records
June: 130 records
July: 150 records
August: 144 records
September: 122 records
October: 163 records
November: 130 records
December: 122 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–38 m · Deepest record: 265 m

0–10 m: 49 records
10–20 m: 23 records
20–30 m: 33 records
30–40 m: 38 records
40–50 m: 9 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: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 23–30 °C

22–24 °C: 22 records
24–26 °C: 38 records
26–28 °C: 22 records
28–30 °C: 40 records

Photos

(c) Bruce Deagle, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) luluchouette, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) alamettyr, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) luluchouette, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) botanygirl, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Copperband butterflyfish, Banded Longsnout Butterflyfish, Beaked Butterflyfish, Beaked Coralfish, Breaked Coral fish, copperband butterflyfish, Copper-banded Butterflyfish, Long-beaked Coralfish, Longnose Butterflyfish, longnosed butterflyfish

Names in 7 more languages

German: Kupferstreifen-Pinzettfisch, Pinzettfisch
Spanish: Pez mariposa con bandas de cobre
Filipino: Paru-parang dagat
French: Chelmon à bandes cuivrées, Chelmon à bec médiocre
Japanese: Hashinagachochouo, Hashinagachochô-uo, ハシナガチョウチョウウオ
Thai: ปลาผีเสื้อจมูกยาว, ปลาผีเสื้อนกกระจิบ
Simplified Chinese: 短火箭, 鑽嘴魚, 長吻管嘴魚

Other scientific names: Chaelmo rostratus, Chaetodon enceladus, Chaetodon rostratus, Chelmo rostratus, Chelmon lol

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).
914 open-data records from 1915 to 2024.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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