Brown-and-white butterflyfish

Hemitaurichthys zoster

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth11–100 m
Water temperature25–30 °C
Best monthsFebruary, March, and December
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) Frédéric Ducarme, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

Hemitaurichthys zoster, commonly known as the brown-and-white butterflyfish, black pyramid butterflyfish, zoster butterflyfish or brushtooth butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the butterflyfish family Chaetodontidae. It is native to the Indian Ocean.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Hemitaurichthys zoster”, 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: 60 records
March: 92 records
April: 46 records
May: 34 records
June: 17 records
July: 20 records
August: 31 records
September: 49 records
October: 40 records
November: 35 records
December: 78 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 11–100 m · Deepest record: 125 m

10–20 m: 7 records
20–30 m: 3 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 0 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: 1 records
110–120 m: 0 records
120–130 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 25–30 °C

24–26 °C: 11 records
26–28 °C: 79 records
28–30 °C: 9 records

Photos

(c) Rose Zappa, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Georgina Jones, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Emanuele Santarelli, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Borja Fierro-Leva, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) luluchouette, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Brown-and-white butterflyfish, Black Pyramid Butterflyfish, brown-and-white butterflyfish, Brushtooth Butterflyfish, Pyramid Butterflyfish

Names in 4 more languages

German: Schwarzer Pyramidenfalterfisch
Spanish: Pez Mariposa Pirámide, Pez mariposa pirámide negro
French: Papillon jaune et blanc, Papillon pyramide noir, Poisson-papillon pyramide noir, Poisson-pyramide
Thai: ปลาผีเสื้อแถบขาว

Other scientific names: Chaetodon zoster, Hemitaurichtys zoster, Tetragonoptrus zoster

Similar species

Brushytoothed Butterflyfish
Hemitaurichthys polylepis
Thompson's butterfly
Hemitaurichthys thompsoni
Threadfin butterflyfish
Chaetodon auriga
Citron Butterfly
Chaetodon citrinellus
Blackblotch Butterflyfish
Chaetodon ephippium
Sunburst butterflyfish
Chaetodon kleinii

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).
252 open-data records from 1951 to 2023.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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