Chaetodon quadrimaculatus Gray, 1831

Taxonomic Nomenclature

The four-spotted butterflyfish, also known as fourspot butterflyfish (Chaetodon quadrimaculatus Gray, 1831), is a species of butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae.

Distribution Range

It occurs in the Pacific Ocean, ranging from the Ryukyu Islands, Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands and Taiwan south to the Samoan and Austral Islands, and east to the Hawaiian, Marquesan, and Pitcairn islands; it is also found in the Marianas and Marshall Islands of Micronesia.

Diet Type

This is a marine coral-eating species.

Population Correlates

Its overall geographic range, plus the spatial distribution of its populations and temporal changes in its population density, are all correlated to the distribution and abundance of the corals it depends on for food.

Closest Related Species

This species is quite distinct, and it is most closely related to the speckled butterflyfish (C. citrinellus).

Subgenus Phylogeny

Together, these two species are basal in the subgenus Exornator, and may be intermediate between the core group of this subgenus and species of the Rhombochaetodon (also called Roaops) lineage.

Taxonomic Implications

If this relationship is correct, Rhombochaetodon (Roaops) would need to be merged into Exornator. If the larger genus Chaetodon is ever split into separate genera, Exornator would likely become a subgenus of Lepidochaetodon.

Aquarium Trade Relevance

As a family, butterflyfish are popular marine aquarium specimens due to their varied colors and patterns, and they make up 4% of the global fish trade.

Reproductive Mating System

Fourspot butterflyfish usually reproduce in monogamous pair bonds.

Spawning Method

They use a spawn breeding method: gonochoristic males and females release their gametes into the water column, where fertilization occurs.

Egg Characteristics

Fertilized eggs are pelagic and typically less than 1 mm in size, and they hatch in approximately 30 hours.

Larval Form

Like other butterflyfish in this family, C. quadrimaculatus has a specialized larval form called tholichthys. In this stage, the head is covered by fused plates that form a distinctive head spination.

Parental Care

No definitive studies have confirmed the level of parental care for this species, but little to no parental care is expected, as a result of its spawn breeding reproductive strategy.

Juvenile Settlement

After hatching and completing larval development, juvenile fourspot butterflyfish settle directly onto coral, which provides them protection from predators.