[1] The name is derived from the dark vertical bands on the fish's body.

This, combined with a vertical, black bar through the eye, is an antipredator adaptation, the bands disrupting the body's outlines.

Its range extends from Massachusetts in the United States to Santa Catarina in Brazil, and includes the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda and Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago.

[3] The banded butterflyfish is usually seen singly or in pairs, but can occur in small shoals of about twenty individuals.

Although it is sometimes harvested for the reef aquarium trade, this is not thought to significantly impact the population which is believed to be stable.