The Great Fiji Butterflyfish Count

Chaetodon baronessa Cuvier, 1829

Family: Chaetodontidae (Butterflyfishes)Chaetodon baronessa, Chaetodontidae, Eastern triangular butterflyfish.

Order: Perciformes (perch-likes)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
FishBase name: Eastern triangular butterflyfish

Chaetodon baronessa, Chaetodontidae, Eastern triangular butterflyfish.
Chaetodon baronessa, Chaetodontidae, Eastern triangular butterflyfish.

Max. size: 16.0 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 48636)

Environment: reef-associated; non-migratory; marine; depth range 5 – 20 m

Climate: tropical; 30°N – 45°S

Importance: aquarium: commercial; price category: not marketed/unknown

Resilience: High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months(Preliminary K or Fecundity.) Vulnerability: Low vulnerability (10.00), based on Lmax and K (Ref. 59153

Distribution: Gazetteer Western Pacific: Cocos-Keeling Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean and Indonesia to Fiji and Tonga (Ref. 53797), north to southern Japan, south to New Caledonia and New South Wales, Australia. Replaced by Chaetodon triangulum in the Indian Ocean (Ref. 37816).

Morphology: Dorsal spines (total): 11 – 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 23 – 26; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 20 – 22. The sides are with a pattern of alternating cream and grey-brown to purplish chevron-shaped narrow bars. Three dark bars on the head, including one running across the eye.

Biology: Occur in lagoon and seaward reefs. Feed exclusively on the polyps of the tubular Acropora corals. Swim in pairs and are territorial. Oviparous (Ref. 205). Form pairs during breeding (Ref. 205).

Red List Status: Not Evaluated (Ref. 57073)

Dangerous: harmless

Coordinator: Main Ref: Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen and R.C. Steene. 1990. (Ref. 2334)