You can sponsor this page

Parachaetodon ocellatus (Cuvier, 1831)

Sixspine butterflyfish
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Parachaetodon ocellatus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
 Pictures | Videos | Google image
Image of Parachaetodon ocellatus (Sixspine butterflyfish)
Parachaetodon ocellatus
Picture by Patzner, R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Acanthuriformes (Surgeonfishes) > Chaetodontidae (Butterflyfishes)
Etymology: Parachaetodon: Greek, para = the side of + Greek, chaite = hair + Greek, odous = teeth (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Cuvier.

Issue
It is unclear if Chaetodon oligacanthus Bleeker, 1850 is a distinct species in Parachaetodon, taking into accont that it is the type species of the genus. The species page will be created in the next update. This species is valid in Eschmeyer (CofF ver. May 2011: Ref. 86870). Please send references, or more studies are needed.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 5 - 40 m (Ref. 90102). Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: Ogasawara (Bonin) Island to Australia, also from Malaysia (Ref. 5756).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 18.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2334)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 6 - 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 28 - 30; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 18 - 20.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occur in pairs on flat sand or silty bottoms on coastal reefs. Adults school in large numbers over open muddy substrates in deep water. Juveniles sometimes in large lagoons with seagrasses in depths of about 5 m or more (Ref. 48636). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Form pairs during breeding (Ref. 205).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Form pairs during breeding (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen and R.C. Steene, 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 506 p. (Ref. 2334)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 06 October 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

Bio-Quiz | E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.7 - 29.1, mean 28.2 °C (based on 840 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02239 (0.01097 - 0.04568), b=3.01 (2.84 - 3.18), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.8   ±0.25 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 99.7 [51.9, 151.0] mg/100g; Iron = 0.823 [0.495, 1.335] mg/100g; Protein = 18.5 [17.3, 19.6] %; Omega3 = 0.113 [0.071, 0.177] g/100g; Selenium = 34.9 [19.8, 64.6] μg/100g; VitaminA = 44.8 [12.5, 156.3] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.52 [1.04, 2.16] mg/100g (wet weight);