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Milletseed Butterflyfish

 

There are many colorful butterfly fishes in Hawaii's coral reefs. The milletseed butterflyfish (Chaetodon miliaris), or lauwiliwili in Hawaiian, is endemic to Hawai'i. One of the unique features of the butterflyfish is the black eye on its tail, which confuses its predators as to which side is the head and which side is the back(tail). Its body is yellowish with black dots arranged in vertical rows. Its body is strongly compressed and measures to about 6 inches in length. It is of too poor quality to eat. Its diet consists of coral polyps and small invertebrates. It can be found in the reef slope zone (30-90 feet from shore). This fish usually travels in schools.