Vagabond butterflyfish
Chaetodon vagabundus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Vagabond butterflyfish
- Scientific
- Chaetodon vagabundus
- Dhivehi
- ކޮކާ ބިބީKokaa bibee
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 23 cm (total length); commonly 15 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 30 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2009
Description
A white butterflyfish marked with two sets of thin diagonal lines meeting at right angles, a black eye bar and a black band across the rear body and tail. It lives in pairs on reef flats, lagoons and outer reefs and has a broad diet of algae, coral polyps, crustaceans and worms.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi Wikipedia (MRS-derived) gives kokaa bibee.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Chaetodon-vagabundus.html
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ކޮކާ_ބިބީ
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Chaetodon_vagabundus.jpg
Dhivehi name source: Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ކޮކާ ބިބީ' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition). No published Latin-script form found; 'Kokaa bibee' is Pax's transliteration of the Thaana (Malé Latin conventions). FishBase also lists 'Handupholimas' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used. FLAG: Latin form is a transliteration, not a published spelling.