Mirror Butterflyfish
Chaetodon speculum
The Mirror Butterflyfish, ''Chaetodon speculum'', is a species of butterflyfish . It is found in the Indo-Pacific region from Indonesia to Japan and south to the Great Barrier Reef and Papua New Guinea. The species has also been reported from Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion.
It grows to a maximum of 18 cm in length. The body color is a bright to orange-yellow with a big black blotch below the dorsal fin and a vertical black bar running through the eye.
Like the other butterflyfishes with angular yellow bodies with black eyestripes and a single differently-colored patch , it belongs in the subgenus ''Tetrachaetodon''. Among this group it seems to be particularly close to the Zanzibar Butterflyfish which has a smaller black blotch and traces of horizontal stripes on the flanks. If ''Chaetodon'' is split up, the subgenus ''Tetrachaetodon'' would be placed in ''Megaprotodon''.
The Mirror Butterflyfish is found in coral reefs at depths between 3 and 30 m. It favors coastal reef slopes rich in hydroids and sea anemones. Small juveniles hide in coral thickets. Usually, this species is solitary and relatively uncommon. They feed on coral polyps and invertebrates.
It grows to a maximum of 18 cm in length. The body color is a bright to orange-yellow with a big black blotch below the dorsal fin and a vertical black bar running through the eye.
Like the other butterflyfishes with angular yellow bodies with black eyestripes and a single differently-colored patch , it belongs in the subgenus ''Tetrachaetodon''. Among this group it seems to be particularly close to the Zanzibar Butterflyfish which has a smaller black blotch and traces of horizontal stripes on the flanks. If ''Chaetodon'' is split up, the subgenus ''Tetrachaetodon'' would be placed in ''Megaprotodon''.
The Mirror Butterflyfish is found in coral reefs at depths between 3 and 30 m. It favors coastal reef slopes rich in hydroids and sea anemones. Small juveniles hide in coral thickets. Usually, this species is solitary and relatively uncommon. They feed on coral polyps and invertebrates.