Kingdom Animalia Order Perciformes Subgenus Rabdophorus Higher classification Chaetodon | Phylum Chordata Family Chaetodontidae Scientific name Chaetodon selene Rank Species | |
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Genus Chaetodon (but see text) Similar Chaetodon, Butterflyfish, Dotted butterflyfish, Chaetodon argentatus, Spot‑nape butterflyfish | ||
The Yellow-dotted Butterflyfish, Chaetodon selene, is a poorly known fish species which has been recorded in the Indo-Pacific region from Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Taiwan and Japan.
It grows to a maximum of 16 cm (6.3 inches) long. The body is mainly white, with a series of yellow dots running at diagonal lines over the sides (see photo). A black band extends from the caudal peduncle along the bases of the dorsal and anal fins. There is a narrow black eyestripe edged with yellow.
C. selene belongs to the large subgenus Rabdophorus, which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus. In this group, it appears a somewhat distant relative of the Black-backed Butterflyfish (C. melannotus) and the Spot-tailed Butterflyfish (C. ocellicaudus). They are all of oval shape, silvery with yellow fins and snout, ascending diagonal stripes (yellow in C. selene, dark in the others), and black markings around the eyes, on the caudal peduncle, and sometimes on the back. Next closest seem the Saddle Butterflyfish (C. ephippium) and the Dotted Butterflyfish (C. semeion), but these are already so distant that their ancestors are thought to have diverged from those soon after the Rabdophorus lineage started to diversify.
The Yellow-dotted Butterflyfish is found on coastal reefs, primarily on rubble slopes from 8–50 metres (26–164 ft) in depth. It feeds on benthic invertebrates.