---
title: Orangeface Butterflyfish (Chaetodon larvatus)
scientific_name: Chaetodon larvatus
common_name: Orangeface Butterflyfish
taxon: Butterflyfishes
conservation_status: LC - Least Concern
published: 2024-10-28T00:20:42.959Z
updated: 2026-08-20T17:09:45.199Z
tags: Orangeface Butterflyfish, Chaetodon larvatus, Butterflyfishes, Red Sea, Marine Life, Diving
url: https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/butterflyfishes/orangeface-butterflyfish
---

# Orangeface Butterflyfish (*Chaetodon larvatus*)

## Quick facts

- **Group:** Butterflyfishes (*Chaetodontidae*)
- **Size:** 12 cm
- **Depth:** 2-20 m
- **Diet:** Corallivore
- **Activity:** Diurnal
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Habitat:** Seaward and lagoon coral reefs
- **Reproduction:** Broadcast spawner, Egg layer, Gonochoric
- **Conservation status:** LC - Least Concern

The Orangeface Butterflyfish, Chaetodon larvatus, is a deep-bodied, compressed butterflyfish. It reaches a maximum total length of 12 cm (4.7 in). The body is primarily powder blue, marked with narrow, white chevron-shaped bars that run across the flanks. The head and the front part of the body display an intense red-orange coloration, a feature from which its common name derives. The scientific name larvatus is Latin for "masked," referring to this distinctive facial pattern. The back of the dorsal fin and the entire caudal fin are black. This species shares a morphological resemblance with the Triangle Butterflyfish (Chaetodon triangulum), its sister species from the Indian Ocean, particularly in its deep, angular body shape.

This species inhabits seaward and lagoon coral reefs, typically at depths ranging from 3 to 20 meters (10 to 66 ft). Orangeface Butterflyfish are commonly observed in stable pairs, which maintain a territorial presence on the reef. As a diurnal species, it is active during daylight hours. Its diet consists exclusively of the polyps from tubular Acropora corals, making it a specialist corallivore. The primary distribution of Chaetodon larvatus covers the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, though it has been recorded twice recently in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Palestine and Syria.

## Also known as

- **English:** hooded butterflyfish, Blue Chevron Butterflyfish, Red Sea Butterflyfish
- **French:** Poisson-papillon marqué
- **Italian:** Pesce farfalla dal cappuccio, Pesce farfalla faccia arancione, Pesce farfalla incappucciato
- **German:** Masken-Falterfisch, Orangekopf-Falterfisch
- **Spanish:** Pez Mariposa Monarca
- **Portuguese:** Peixe-borboleta-de-face-laranja
- **Dutch:** Roodkopkoraalvlinder
- **Czech:** klipka škrabošková
- **Russian:** Рыба-бабочка масковая
- **CA:** Peix papallona monarca
- **DA:** Orangehovedet Fanefisk

## Scientific synonyms

- *Chaetodon karraf* Cuvier, 1831
- *Gonochaetodon larvatus* (Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1831)

## Range

Djibouti, Eritrea, Federal Republic of Somalia, Red Sea

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*Source: [Red Sea Creatures](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/butterflyfishes/orangeface-butterflyfish)*
*Updated: August 20, 2026*