Widespread northern Indian Ocean, ranging east to Bali, but rare east of Java. Records from Japan and Philippines are based on the closely related species Chaetodon auripes. Clear coastal to outer reef slopes. Juveniles in estuaries. Usually occur in pairs and often form large schools in sheltered areas. C. collare is recognised by the bright red on the tail and the grey to black head with a white band behind the eye and white markings on the snout. Small juveniles are very similar to those of C.nigropunctatus in the Arabian Gulf where they co-occur, and is best distinguished from it by the width of the white band behind the black band which runs over the head, being much wider in C.collare. Length to 18cm.
The members of the family Chaetodontidae, popularly know as butterflyfishes, coralfishes and bannerfishes. Most species of butterflyfish live in the warm tropical seas of the Indo-Pacific (about 90%) with the remainder in the Atlantic. Only a few species are found in subtropical waters, bordering onto subtemperate zones. The butterflyfish have a highly compressed body in which the back is raised , forming an elongate-oval to near circular shape in some; a small protactible mouth with brush-like teeth in the jaws; a continuous dorsal fin with strong and sharp spines in the anterior section, followed by a large-surface soft part; an anal fin mirroring the soft part of the dorsal fin , headed by 3-5 strong spines, of which the 2nd is often greatly enlarged.