Family: Chaetodontidae, Butterflyfishes view all from this family

Description The spotfin butterflyfish, Chaetodon ocellatus, is a butterflyfish found in the western Atlantic Ocean, in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

The name is derived from the dark spot on the fish's dorsal fin. This, combined with a vertical, black bar through the eye, is designed to confuse predators.

Habitat Estuaries, tidal flats & salt marshes, Ocean or bay shallows, Tidepools.

Range New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Florida, Texas.