Azure Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera hemicyanea
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 6cm
Identification: Brilliant blue over most of head and body, yellow lower body, ventral, anal and tail fins. Similar Goldtail Demoiselle distinguished by blue belly.
Favourite: Form small groups.
Hide-out: Shelter within coral branches of seaward reefs and lagoons in 3-20m.
Location: N.W. Australia Shelf reefs and Molucca Is. to W. Irian Jaya in Indonesia.

Goldtail Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera parasema
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 6cm
Identification: Brilliant blue head to rear body then yellow including adjacent tail and ventral fins. Similar Azure Demoiselle distinguished by yellow belly.
Favourite: Form groups.
Hide-out: Shelter within branching corals of protecter reefs to 16m.
Location: Asian Pacific - N.W. Australia, Sulawesi in Indonesia, Philippines to E. Papua New Guinea and Solomon Is.

Blueline Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera caeruleolineata
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 5.5cm
Identification: Pale yellow to orange often with purplish tints; bright neon-blue stripe from snout to rear dorsal fin, scattered blue spots on head.
Favourite: Usually form small groups.
Hide-out: Rubber and rock outcroppings on steep outer slopes in 30-65m.
Location: West Pacific - Rowley Shoals, 260km west of N.W. Australia to Samoa, north to S.W. Japan.

Surge Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera brownriggii
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 8.5cm
Identification: Yellow to yellow-orange; bright neon-blue stripe extends from snout to below rear dorsal fin, 2 blue and black spots on upper base of tail.
Favourite: Solitary or form groups.
Hide-out: Outer reef flats and surge channels to 12m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - E. Africa to Fiji and French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to New Caledonia.

Yellow Crown Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera sp.
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 8cm
Identification: Light gray to whitish with translucent ventral fins; broad yellow wash from snout to mid-back.
Favourite: Solitary or form loose groups.
Hide-out: Reef tops and surge channels of fringing and offshore reefs in 2-8m.
Location: Spratley Is. in S. China Sea to N. Sulawesi in Indonesia including Togean and Banggai Is.

Bluespot Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera oxycephala
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 8cm
Identification: Yellowish gray with numerous tiny blue spots; dusky 'mask' from upper lip to eye. Juvenile - Blue head and upper body, grayish to yellowish below.
Favourite: Form small to large groups.
Hide-out: Sheltered shoreline reefs and lagoons in rich coral areas to 16m.
Location: Asian Pacific - Indonesia, Philippines, Palau and Papua New Guinea.

Gray Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera glauca
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 8cm
Identification: Pale gray with bluish tint and occasional yellow-olive hue on upper half of head and body.
Favourite: Usually form aggregations.
Hide-out: Reef flats and near-shore shallows exposed to wave action, to 2m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - E. Africa to Line Is. and Pitcaim Is. east of French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Australia.

King Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera rex
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 8cm
Identification: Upper head and forebody variable from grayish blue to yellow, remainder of body and fins yellowish, ventral fins translucent; often tiny blue speckles on head and body.
Favourite: Solitary or form groups.
Hide-out: Surge channels and outer reefs to 6m.
Location: Asian Pacific - Indonesia and Philippines. S.W. Japan to Coral Sea.

Talbot's Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera talboti
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 6cm
Identification: Commonly pale mauve but variable (black in Fiji); bright yellow area from snout to back, black spot on middle of dorsal fin.
Favourite: Solitary or form small groups.
Hide-out: Shoreline reefs, lagoons and outer slopes in 6-35m.
Location: East Indo-West Pacific - Andaman Sea to Coral Sea and Fiji, north to Philippines.

Springer's Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera springeri
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 6cm
Identification: Brilliant blue occasionally intermixed with black speckling.
Favourite: Form small groups.
Hide-out: Shelter within branching corals of protected reefs and lagoons in 5-30m.
Location: Komodo I. to Sulawesi and Irian Jaya in Indonesia and Philippines.

Chinese Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Neopomacentrus bankieri
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 7cm
Identification: Gray with yellow rear dorsal and tail fins; small black spot on upper pectoral fin base.
Favourite: Form schools.
Hide-out: Coral and rock outcroppings or debris on sand and silt bottoms in 3-12m.
Location: Asian Pacific - South China, Java Seas and Great Barrier Reef.

Brown Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Neopomacentrus filamentosus
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 8cm
Identification: Gray-brown, rear dorsal and tail fins abruptly clear; narrow blue margin on most fins.
Hide-out: Soft bottoms of lagoons and inshore reefs also around coral and rock outcroppings or wreckage in 5-12m.
Location: East Indo-Asian Pacific - Andaman Sea to N. Australia and Coral Sea, north to Philippines.

Sweetwater Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Neopomacentrus aquadulcis
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 10cm
Identification: Charcoal-gray; fins (except pectorals) have fine blue margins, pectoral fin base dark; broadly rounded tail lobes. Nuptial males display white margin on tail lobes.
Favourite: Form small groups.
Hide-out: Tidal reaches of freshwater streams to 2m.
Location: S.E. Papua New Guinea from Morobe coast to Milne Bay.

Freshwater Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Neopomacentrus taeniurus
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 10cm
Identification: Brown with dark scale margins and yellow tail with dark borders; yellow edge on rear edge of dorsal and anal fins.
Favourite: Form small groups.
Hide-out: Mangroves, lower reaches of freshwater streams and bays with freshwater discharge to 3m.
Location: Indo-Asian Pacific - E. Africa to Australia and New Guinea.

Twospot Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera biocellata
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 7cm
Identification: Dark grayish brown with pale tail; white mid-body bar. Juvenile - Primarily yellow with blue lines on forehead and upper side and pair of black spots on dorsal fin.
Hide-out: Rubble and rock outcroppings in lagoons and shore reefs to 5m.
Location: Indo-West Pacific - E. Africa to Samoa and Marshall Is. in Micronesia. S.W. Japan to N.W. Australia and New Caledonia.

Tracey's Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera traceyi
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 6cm
Identification: Dark purplish gray, pale yellowish tail base, ventral fins blackish; ovate black blotch at base of middle of dorsal fin.
Favourite: Solitary or form small groups.
Hide-out: Lagoons and outer reefs in 5-30m.
Location: Northwestern Pacific - Micronesia and Philippines.

Onespot Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera unimaculata
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 8cm
Identification: Usually pale brown to gray forebody with dark rear body, occasionally entirely dark, yellowish pectoral fins; usually dark blotch or spot on rear dorsal fin.
Favourite: Solitary or form small groups.
Hide-out: Wave-exposed reef flats to 2m.
Location: Indo-West Pacific - Red Sea and E. Africa to Fiji. S.W. Japan to Australia and the Coral Sea.

Sinclair's Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Chrysiptera sinclairi
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 6cm
Identification: Brilliant blue with blue streaks and small blotches on lower head and breast.
Favourite: Form small groups.
Hide-out: Shelter within branching corals of protected seaward reefs and lagoons to 15m.
Location: Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea from Manus I. to N. Solomon Is.

Banggai Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Amblypomacentrus clarus
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 7cm
Identification: Similar to Black-banded Demoiselle, but dark bars more intense and not joined by dark dorsal fin margin, also lack brownish tones and no yellow on young.
Favourite: Usually form small groups.
Hide-out: Silty sand bottoms of sheltered bays and harbors in 15-30m.
Location: Banggai Is. off central E. Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Black-Banded Demoiselle

Scientific Name: Amblypomacentrus breviceps
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 8cm
Identification: White; dark eye bar, pair of black bars on upper half of body joined by dark margin on dorsal fin; slender body, adults have filaments on tail lobes; young are yellow to brown on lower half.
Hide-out: Sand or silt bottoms of coastal reefs and lagoons in 2-35m.
Location: Asian Pacific - Indonesia, Philippines and New Guinea to Solomon Is. and Great Barrier Reef.