The butterfly perch (Caesioperca lepidoptera) is a marine species of ray-finned fish in the family Anthiadidae.

The butterfly perch is a laterally compressed, deep-bodied fish growing to a maximum length of 47 cm (19 in).

[3] However, the butterfly perch has a deeper body, and males are more pink with a dark blotch rather than band on the side.

[4] The butterfly perch is found in the temperate waters around Australia and New Zealand at depths down to about 100 m (328 ft).

[3] It is a demersal fish, feeding on planktonic organisms and such bottom-dwelling invertebrates as sea squirts, pyrosomes, coral polyps, polychaete worms, copepods and shrimps.