[1] Chaetodon auripes occurs at depths of 1 to 30 metres (3.3 to 98.4 ft) and is found on rocky reefs where coral and algae are present.

Juveniles are typically found in tidal pools and sheltered rocky areas in shallow water.

This species lives in cooler waters than other butterflyfish and can tolerate temperatures down to 10 °C (50 °F) off Japan.

[3] Chaetodon auripes was first formally described in 1901 by the American ichthyologists David Starr Jordan and John Otterbein Snyder with the type locality given as Nagasaki.

[4] This species belongs to the large subgenus Rabdophorus which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus.