WHATSTHATFISH
Bony fish

Margined Coralfish

Chelmon marginalis

Also known as: Copperband Butterflyfish, Coralfish, Marginalis Butterflyfish, Margined Butterflyfish, Margined Copperband, Western-beaked Butterflyfish

LCLeast ConcernIUCN Red List, 2010
Adult
@fishx6 · Blizzard Ridge, Ningaloo Reef, Exmouth, WA, Australia · March 20131 / 7
01

Overview

Found singly or in pairs, over coastal reefs rich in invertebrate growth.
Western Pacific - Western Australia to PNG

Butterflyfishes have very fine hair like teeth that enable them to pick out small organisms inaccessible to most other fish for eating.
They thrive mainly on a diet of coral polyps, tentacles of featherdusters and Christmas-tree worms. As these food sources all zap back into their shells, butterflyfishes need to be able to hover motionless while picking at the coral and to dart swiftly over short distances to get the worm before it retracts. They do this by using their Pectoral fins as oars to brake, sprint, turn and even reverse.

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How to identify

Pattern
stripes
Head & Mouth
long snout
Behaviour
pairssolitary

Tap any trait to see other fish that share it.

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Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Western Pacific
  • Exact location · 5
  • Country only · 2
LIVES IN

Found singly or in pairs, over coastal reefs rich in invertebrate growth.

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Adult photos 7

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Discussion

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    ALL STAGES
    FOR THE MARINE-BIOLOGY CURIOUS

    Deep dive

    Taxonomy

    1. kingdomAnimalia
    2. phylumChordata
    3. classTeleostei
    4. orderAcanthuriformes
    5. familyChaetodontidae
    6. genusChelmon
    7. speciesChelmon marginalis Richardson, 1842

    SourcesWoRMSFishBase

    06

    More in the family

    Butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae)