What Animal Lives Where

Where has the Vagabond Butterflyfish been recorded?

Chaetodon vagabundus occurrence evidence comes from 984 records in 38 countries and territories, from 1881 to 2026. Most records come from American Samoa.

Vagabond Butterflyfish
Vagabond Butterflyfish — Photo (display-sized rendition): Dr. Dwayne Meadows, NOAA/NMFS/OPR · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
PerciformesChaetodontidaeChaetodon

Observation evidence passport

Evidence found

984 records across 38 countries and territories, 1881–2026.

Chaetodon vagabundus · GBIF taxon key 2385564

Source coverage

CC0 GBIF Animalia occurrence facets, including country, month and year summaries.

Refreshed 2026-09-22. Inspect the taxon on GBIF.

What this means

The species has been recorded in the listed places in the stated source universe. Peak month: April.

12 months reach at least 10% of the peak facet count.

What this does not mean

repeated describes the record pattern, not a formal range, residency, abundance or conservation assessment.

A single record remains evidence of a recording, not proof that a population lives there.

Compare this animal’s observation pattern

When it is recorded

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: April. Records cluster in the months an animal is present and being looked for, so a summer peak can reflect observer effort as much as the animal.

Records over time

18812026

Recording effort has risen steeply almost everywhere since the 1990s, so a rising line usually shows more observers rather than more animals.

Where Vagabond Butterflyfish has been recorded

The countries below show where occurrence evidence exists for Vagabond Butterflyfish. They do not define a complete habitat range: survey effort differs by place, and historical or one-off records can appear alongside repeated presence.

PlaceRecordsShare
American Samoa 332
Philippines 128
United States 96
Palau 64
Australia 56
Indonesia 45
French Polynesia 37
Fiji 32
Micronesia 29
United States Minor Outlying Islands 29
Solomon Islands 18
Papua New Guinea 15
Seychelles 15
Japan 14
Vanuatu 13
Mauritius 7
Thailand 7
Sri Lanka 5
South Africa 5
Réunion 4
Wallis & Futuna 4
India 3
Mozambique 3
New Caledonia 3
Myanmar 2
Malaysia 2
Tonga 2
Taiwan 2
Samoa 2
ZZ 2
Cook Islands 1
Guam 1
Madagascar 1
Marshall Islands 1
Northern Mariana Islands 1
Maldives 1
Norfolk Island 1
Yemen 1

Related animals

Others in the family Chaetodontidae.

Ornate Butterflyfish
Ornate Butterflyfish
4,122 records
Reticulated Butterflyfish
Reticulated Butterflyfish
3,674 records
Threadfin Butterflyfish
Threadfin Butterflyfish
3,550 records
Redstriped Butterflyfish
Redstriped Butterflyfish
2,918 records
Fourspot Butterflyfish
Fourspot Butterflyfish
2,508 records
Oval Butterflyfish
Oval Butterflyfish
2,121 records
Whitespotted Butterflyfish
Whitespotted Butterflyfish
2,050 records
Chevroned Butterflyfish
Chevroned Butterflyfish
1,895 records
Record pattern: repeated
Repeated records across many years and months. This is inferred from how many years and months the animal appears in, not from a range map — treat it as evidence, not a formal assessment.