Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

Fish of the Maldives

A Guide to Common Reef Fish in

Head-band Butterflyfish

Chaetodon collare

Very distinctive butterflyfish easily recognized from a distsance.

Citron Butterflyfish

Chaetodon citrinellus

Delicate-looking butterflyfish that can appear somewhat similar to the Spotted Butterflyfish. However, the latter has a vertical black edge lining the end its tail fin, whereas the Citron Butterflyfish does not. (Sorry, no picture of a Spotted Butterflyfish as of yet...) I noticed the shade of yellow varied quite a bit.

Meyer's, or Scrawled, Butterflyfish

Chaetodon meyeri

Also a very distinctive butterflyfish easily recognized from a distsance. Also usually in pairs.

Double-saddle Butterflyfish

Chaetodon falcula

Threadfin Butterflyfish

Chaetodon auriga

Thread-like fin extending from the end of its dorsal fin...hence the name.

Black-back Butterflyfish

Chaetodon melannotus

Pinstriped Butterflyfish

Chaetodon trifasciatus

Triangular Butterflyfish

Chaetodon triangulum

The Butterflyfish

While some butterflyfish are very distinct, and the name usually matches a description of the fish, it can be hard to recall exactly which one you saw after the fact. Learning one or two unique markings for a particular species can help with this.

Most of the time butterflyfish swim in pairs.

Yellow-head Butterflyfish

Chaetodon xanthocephalus

Very-long-nose Butterflyfish

Chaetodon longirostris

OK, joking aside, there is a Very-long-nose Butterflyfish and a Long-nose Butterflyfish (Chaetodon flavissimus.) Very-long-nose has a longer nose proportional to its body than Long-nose. Which one this is here, I'm not sure of ... but since they have very long noses either way you look at it, I'll call these guys Very-long-nose Butterflyfish just for the heck of it.

Black Pyramid Butterflyfish

Hemitaurichthys zoster

I saw these mostly in very large schools at the reef edges; often along with Sergeant Majors, Red-toothed Triggerfish and a Unicornfish thrown in here and there.