Guardian Damsel

Scientific Name: Altrichthys curatus
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 6cm
Identification: Whitish to pale green or olive; narrow silver streak on each scale join to form narrow lines.
Favourite: Adults in pairs; guard broods of 20-100 babies; young form groups.
Hide-out: Sheltered reefs in 2-10m.
Location: Calamian Group and Cuyo Is. north of Palawan in 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.

Bicolor Rabbitfish

Scientific Name: Siganus uspi
Family: Rabbitfishes - Siganidae
Maximum Size: 22cm
Identification: Chocolate-brown to rear dorsal and anal fin then abruptly yellow to tail, yellow pectoral fins; protruding snout.
Favourite: In pairs.
Hide-out: Coral-rich areas of lagoons and seaward reefs to 8m.
Location: Known only from New Caledonia and Fiji.

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.

Silver-Streaked Damsel

Scientific Name: Altrichthys azurelineatus
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 6cm
Identification: Whitish with narrow silver streak on each scale, joining to form narrow lines; black margin on dorsal fin and borders of tail.
Favourite: Adults in pairs; guard broods of 20-100 babies; young form groups.
Hide-out: Sheltered reefs coral in 2-8m.
Location: Calamian Group north of Palawan in Philippines.

Darwin Damsel

Scientific Name: Dischistodus darwinensis
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 13cm
Identification: White with five brown bars; often yellowish upper head and back.
Hide-out: Coral or rock outcroppings on sheltered shoreline reefs with silt and sand bottoms to 8m.
Location: N.W. Cape, W. Australia to Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland.

Fourspot Butterflyfish

Scientific Name: Chaetodon quadrimaculatus
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 16cm
Description: Yellow-orange with brown upper body; pair of white spots on back.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs; feed almost exclusively on Pocillopora corals.
Hide-out: Exposed rocky reefs with scattered coral growth in 2-15m.
Location: Northern Pacific - Taiwan and S.W. Japan to Hawaii and French Polynesia.

Banded Damsel

Scientific Name: Dischistodus fasciatus
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 13cm
Identification: Pale with dark bar through eye; wide brown body bar.
Favourite: Often aggressive toward divers.
Hide-out: Shoreline and lagoon reefs with silt and sand bottoms to 8m.
Location: Asian Pacific - Indonesia and Philippines.

Staghorn Damsel

Scientific Name: Amblyglyphidodon curacao
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 11.5cm
Identification: Pale greenish to whitish with three wide, dark green bars; mid-body may be yellow.
Favourite: Usually form groups.
Hide-out: Commonly shelter among branches of staghorn Acropora coral on coastal reefs, lagoons and outer slopes to 15m.
Location: West Pacific - Singapore to Vanuatu, Samoa and Marshall Is. S.W. Japan to N.W. Australia and Great Barrier Reef.

Honeyhead Damsel

Scientific Name: Dischistodus prosopotaenia
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 18cm
Identification: Golden brown with wide white bar on mid-body and white tail; black blotch below front dorsal fin.
Favourite: Solitary or form loose groups.
Hide-out: Lagoon and inshore reefs with sand and silt bottoms to 12m.
Location: East Indo-Asian Pacific - Andaman Sea to Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, north to Philippines.

Scribbled Rabbitfish

Scientific Name: Siganus spinus
Family: Rabbitfishes - Siganidae
Maximum Size: 20cm
Identification: Whitish undercolor with labyrinth brown broken bands; fins pale with dark mottling. Smallest member of family.
Favourite: Form small to large schools; graze on algae.
Hide-out: Coastal reef flats and outer reefs to 6m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - India to Society Is. in French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to S. Great Barrier Reef.

Blackvent Damsel

Scientific Name: Dischistodus melanotus
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 15cm
Identification: White with broad brown area on upper head and forebody; dark brown patch on belly; large pale spots on gill cover.
Favourite: Solitary.
Hide-out: Lagoon and inshore coral reefs to 10m.
Location: Asian Pacific - Indonesia to Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, north to S.W. Japan.

Obicular Damsel

Scientific Name: Amblyglyphidodon orbicularis
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 13cm
Identification: Pale gray-white with bright yellow ventral and anal fins. Formerly considered a variation of White-belly Damsel.
Favourite: Generally solitary, occasionally in pairs.
Hide-out: Near shore and outer reefs in 4-40m.
Location: West Pacific - New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa.

Black-Axil Chromis

Scientific Name: Chromis atripectoralis
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 10cm
Identification: Blue to pale green; black spot on axil of pectoral fin.
Favourite: Form large schools; feed in mid-water above coral thickets.
Hide-out: Lagoons and outer reefs in 2-15m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - Mascarene and Seychelles Is. to Pitcaim Is. east of French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef and Lord Howe I.

Eight-Banded Butterflyfish

Scientific Name: Chaetodon octofasciatus
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 12cm
Description: Yellow Variation - Yellow to orange with 8 narrow black bars.
Favourite: Shelters among branching corals; feed exclusively on coral polyps.
Hide-out: Shallow protected lagoons (often turbid/silty) and inner reefs with good coral cover in 3-20m.
Location: Indo-Asian Pacific - Sri Lanka to Indonesia, Philippines and Solomon Is. S.W. Japan to N. New Guinea.

Phoenix Damsel

Scientific Name: Plectroglyphidodon phoenixensis
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 9cm
Identification: Brown with white tail; four narrow white to yellowish bars and black bar on tail base; may display pale ocellated spot on rear dorsal fin.
Favourite: Solitary or form loose groups.
Hide-out: Rocky shores and reef flats exposed to vigorous wave action to 8m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - E. Africa to S.W. Japan to Johnston I, Line Is. and French Polynesia.

Vermiculate Rabbitfish

Scientific Name: Siganus vermiculatus
Family: Rabbitfishes - Siganidae
Maximum Size: 37cm
Identification: Bluish white undercolor with maze of wavy yellowish brown bands; small dark spots on tail with straight margin.
Favourite: Usually form groups.
Hide-out: Young occur in shallow brackish areas; adults inhabit sheltered reefs to 15m.
Location: Indo-West Pacific - India to Indonesia, New Guinea and Fiji. Philippines and Guam to N. Great Barrier Reef.

Brighteye Damsel

Scientific Name: Plectroglyphidodon imparipennis
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 6cm
Identification: Light blue-gray (nearly white), tail base and tail often yellow, nape and fore-back may be dusky; black bar across middle of eye, iris silvery.
Hide-out: Wave-swept shallows to 3m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - E. Africa to Hawaii and Pitcaim Is. east of French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Australia.

White-Spotted Surgeonfish

Scientific Name: Acanthurus guttatus
Family: Surgeonfishes - Acanthuridae
Maximum Size: 29cm
Identification: Darkish with numerous white spots or streaks rear body; white bar behind eye and behind pectoral fin, yellowish foretail.
Favourite: Usually form groups.
Hide-out: Surge zone to 4m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - Mauritius to Indonesia, Micronesia, Hawaii and French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia.

Lagoon Damsel

Scientific Name: Hemiglyphidodon plagiometopon
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 18cm
Identification: Brown; head occasionally pale gradating to dark rear body; no distinctive markings.
Favourite: 'Farm' algae; aggressive toward intruders.
Hide-out: Sheltered shoreline reefs and lagoons often in areas of silting and turbid water to 20m.
Location: East Indo-Asian Pacific - Andaman Sea, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, Solomon Is. and Great Barrier Reef.