Brushytoothed Butterflyfish

Hemitaurichthys polylepis

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth6–25 m
Water temperature24–30 °C
Best monthsApril, June, and September
How commonOccasional

About this species

The pyramid butterflyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae, native from central Indo-Pacific.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Pyramid 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: 5 records
February: 32 records
March: 18 records
April: 65 records
May: 47 records
June: 78 records
July: 28 records
August: 46 records
September: 52 records
October: 44 records
November: 13 records
December: 4 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 6–25 m · Deepest record: 86 m

0–10 m: 63 records
10–20 m: 207 records
20–30 m: 169 records
30–40 m: 3 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 24–30 °C

22–24 °C: 1 records
24–26 °C: 42 records
26–28 °C: 41 records
28–30 °C: 191 records

Names and classification

English: Brushytoothed Butterflyfish, Pyramid Butterfly, Pyramid Butterflyfish, Shy Butterflyfish

Names in 5 more languages

German: Gelber Pyramidenfalterfisch
Spanish: Pez mariposa pirámide
French: Poisson-papillon pyramide, Poisson-papillon pyramide jaune
Japanese: Kasumichochouo, Kasumi-chôchô-uo, カスミチョウチョウウオ
Simplified Chinese: 多鱗霞蝶魚, 多鳞霞蝶鱼, 霞蝶

Other scientific names: Chaetodon polylepis

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).
956 open-data records from 1953 to 2019.

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