{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Myers, R.F. |author2=Pratchett, M. |date=2010 |title=''Chelmon muelleri'' |volume=2010 |article-number=e.T165660A6083616 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165660A6083616.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Chelmon muelleri | authority = Klunzinger, 1879 }} '''''Chelmon muelleri''''', the '''blackfin coralfish''' or '''Muller's coralfish''', is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish in the family Chaetodontidae. It is a reef fish which is endemic to Australia.<ref name = Fishbase>{{Fishbase|Chelmon|muelleri|month=December|}}</ref>
==Description== ''Chelmon muelleri'' is a long-snouted species of butterflyfish which has a silvery white background colour to the body, marked with four wide brown vertical bars and a large black ocellus at the base of the posterior dorsal fin.<ref name = FofA>{{cite web | author = Bray, D.J. | year = 2020 | title = ''Chelmon muelleri'' | work = Fishes of Australia | access-date = 22 November 2020 | url = https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2407 | publisher = Museums Victoria}}</ref><ref name = rk>{{cite web | url = http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/72-fish-profile | title = Fish Profile - Chelmon Muelleri | access-date = 21 November 2020 | author = Nathaniel A. Walton | website = Reefkeeping}}</ref> The dorsal fin contains 9-10 spines and 26-30 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 18-21 soft rays. This species attains a total length of {{convert|20.5|cm|in}}.<ref name = Fishbase/>
==Distribution== ''Chelmon muelleri'' is endemic to Australia from the Kimberley Island groups in Western Australia to the southern Great Barrier Reef in Queensland.<ref name = FofA/>
==Habitat and biology== ''Chelmon muelleri'' is found on shallow coastal reefs with very little cover of live coral, where the seabed consists of mud or silt or there is extensive cover of algae. It also occurs in estuaries.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> It can be found as deep as {{convert|20|m|ft}}.<ref name = FofA/> The adult fish are normally observed in pairs, although juveniles are solitary. It is a carnivorous species which has a diet consisting of worms, clams, tunicates, and crustaceans.<ref name = Saltcorner>{{cite web | url = http://www.saltcorner.com/AquariumLibrary/browsespecies.php?CritterID=432 | title = ''Chelmon muelleri'' | access-date = 20 November 2020 | publisher = Bob Goemans| year = 2012 | website = Saltcorner}}</ref>
==Taxonomy and etymology== ''Chelmon muelleri'' was first formally described in 1879 by the German zoologist Carl Benjamin Klunzinger (1834-1914)<ref name = CofF>{{Cof record| spid=38791 | title = Chelmon muelleri | access-date = 21 November 2020}}</ref> with the type locality given as Port Denison in Queensland.<ref name = FofA/> The specific name honours the German physician, geographer and botanist Ferdinand von Mueller (1825-1896).<ref name = ETYFish>{{cite web | url = http://www.etyfish.org/acanthuriformes1/ | title =Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 1): Families LOBOTIDAE, POMACANTHIDAE, DREPANEIDAE and CHAETODONTIDAE | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | access-date = 20 November 2020 | date = 21 July 2020 | author1 = Christopher Scharpf | author2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}</ref>
==Utilisation== ''Chelmon muelleri'' rarely appears in the aquarium trade and when it does it commands high prices.<ref name = rk/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3073554}}
muelleri Category:Taxa named by Carl Benjamin Klunzinger Category:Fish described in 1879