Vagabond Butterflyfish

Chaetodon vagabundus is a species of butterflyfish (family Chaetodontidae).

Description

It has a white body with two series of narrow dark lines set at right angles. A broad black band passes through the eye and yellow horizontal lines cross the interorbital region. A black band is present at the rear of the body and another through the caudal fin. The soft dorsal, anal and caudal fins are yellow. Juvenile Vagabond Butterflyfish resemble the adults, but have a black spot at the rear of the dorsal fin. Max length is 23 cm, common length is 15 cm.

It belongs to the large subgenus Rabdophorus which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus. In this group, it almost certainly is a rather close relative of the Threadfin Butterflyfish (C. auriga) and the Indian Vagabond Butterflyfish (C. decussatus). The latter might be closer to the Threadfin Butterflyfish; as C. vagabundus has yielded abnormal mtDNA 12S rRNA sequence data this is hard to say however. The C. auriga species group shares the characteristic pattern of two areas of ascending and descending oblique lines; species differ conspicuously in hindpart coloration.

Distribution

It is found in the Indo-Pacific region from the Red Sea and off East Africa as far east as the Tuamotu Islands, north to southern Japan and south to the Austral Islands.

Habitat

Chaetodon vagabundus are found in reef flats, lagoons and seaward reefs, and sometimes in turbid waters subject to freshwater runoff. They are omnivorous, known to feed on algae, coral polyps, crustaceans and worms. These oviparous, monogamous fish form stable pairs with both pair members jointly defending a feeding territory against other pairs. However they often accompany other species without being aggressive. By the standards of their genus, they are easily maintained in tanks.