Foureye Butterflyfish Identification Guide
Identify the Foureye Butterflyfish by its bold white-ringed black eyespot near the tail base, which mimics a second head.
Read the full Foureye Butterflyfish encyclopedia entry →
Key identification features
- Small, rounded, laterally compressed body up to about 15 cm
- Silvery-gray to pale yellow body with fine diagonal scale lines
- Black vertical bar running through the true eye
- Large black spot ringed in white positioned high on the rear flank near the tail base, creating a false "eye"
- Yellow tint along the rear body and fin edges
- Rounded tail fin with a thin dark margin
Common look-alikes
- Banded Butterflyfish (Chaetodon striatus): has two broad black body bars instead of an eye bar plus a rear eyespot.
- Spotfin Butterflyfish (Chaetodon ocellatus): shows a black spot on the dorsal fin rather than a ringed eyespot on the body, and lacks the tail-base false eye entirely.
Where you'll see one
Foureye Butterflyfish are common throughout the western Atlantic and Caribbean, on shallow coral reefs, rocky patches, and adjacent seagrass beds, often seen in pairs that stay close together while foraging on coral polyps and small invertebrates. They are one of the most frequently encountered butterflyfish on Florida and Caribbean reefs, tolerating a wide range of depths from tide pools to deeper reef slopes.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell a Foureye Butterflyfish from a Banded Butterflyfish?
Look for the eyespot: the Foureye Butterflyfish has a single black bar through the true eye plus a separate white-ringed false eyespot near the tail, while the Banded Butterflyfish instead has two broad black bars across the body and no tail eyespot.
Why does this species have a spot near its tail?
The white-ringed black spot near the tail mimics an eye and, combined with the true eye bar, creates the illusion of four eyes, which can confuse predators about the fish's direction of movement.