Chaetodon ulietensis, Adult, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Chaetodon ulietensis, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Two diffuse dark saddles on back, pale body with dark thin vertical lines, yellow rear of body with a distinct dark spot on tail base and dark band through eye. C. falcula, an Indian Ocean species not known from Australia, has yellow back between saddles. C. lineolatus only has single black patch on rear and lacks black spot on tail base.
Max Size: 15 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 23.1-31.2°C
Habitat: Coral Reef
Habitat Generalisation Index: 15.8
Also referred to as the SGI (Species generalisation index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species.
Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most
hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here
Threats: Exploitation, Habitat degradation
IUCN Threat Status: Least Concern
Occurrence: Common (22% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution.
It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Few (2 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland