It is found in the Indo- West Pacific region from Sri Lanka to Queensland, north to Indonesia and the Philippines.

The body is white with thin vertical lines on the sides and a large black area in the upper back.

[3] The Spot-naped Butterflyfish belongs to the large subgenus Rabdophorus which might warrant recognition as a distinct genus.

These four differ wildly in shape, but all have bluish vertical lines on a white body with yellow behind, and black on back and caudal peduncle in addition to the typical eyestripe of Chaetodon.

The Blue-cheeked Butterflyfish (C. semilarvatus) seems to be a far more basal lineage of Rabdophorus relative to them, but it also has the tell-tale blue vertical lines.