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Dascyllus aruanus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Whitetail dascyllus
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Dascyllus aruanus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Dascyllus aruanus (Whitetail dascyllus)
Dascyllus aruanus
Picture by Patzner, R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Ovalentaria/misc (Various families in series Ovalentaria) > Pomacentridae (Damselfishes) > Chrominae
Etymology: Dascyllus: Greek, daskillys, -on = a kind of fish (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Issue
Dascyllus abudafur<> former synonym of this species is resurrected with Indian Ocean distribution and D. aruanus restricted to Pacific Ocean. Information herein will be re-assigned accordingly.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 0 - 20 m (Ref. 9710). Tropical; 38°N - 35°S, 19°E - 124°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Pacific Ocean: region north and east of Lombok Strait to Line, Marquesan and Tuamoto islands, north to southern Japan, south to New Caledonia.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 5.0  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 10.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4391); common length : 6.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5450); max. reported age: 6 years (Ref. 72479)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11 - 13; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 11 - 13. Color in life white with 3 black bars; a large brown spot on dorsal part of snout and interorbital; lips dusky or white; caudal fin pale; pelvic fins black; pectorals transparent. Margins of preorbital, suborbital, and preoperculum finely serrated (Ref. 2746). Body depth 1.5-1.7 in SL (Ref. 90102).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Territorial, inhabit shallow lagoon and subtidal reef flats. Form large aggregations above staghorn Acropora thickets or in smaller groups above isolated coral heads. Feed on zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, and algae. Males invite females to spawn in their nests; protecting the eggs until they hatch and becoming very aggressive against other fish. Eggs hatch after 3-5 days; pelagic larvae feed on plankton (Ref. 5503). Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). Used in behavioral study. Have been reared in captivity (Ref. 35412). Diurnal species (Ref. 54980, 120737).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Male selects and protects the nest; does the courtship `dance' about 1 m above the nest and escorts the attracted female to the nest site where spawning ensues (Ref. 33146). Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). Eggs are demersal and adhere to the substrate (Ref. 205). Also Ref. 103751.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Allen, Gerald R. | Collaborators

Borsa, P., A. Sembiring, C. Fauvelot and W.-J. Chen, 2014. Resurrection of Indian Ocean humbug damselfish, Dascyllus abudafur (Forsskål) from synonymy with its Pacific Ocean sibling, Dascyllus aruanus (L.). Comptes Rendus Biologies, Elsevier Masson, 337(709-716). (Ref. 119133)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 23 September 2021

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
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References

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.9 - 29.3, mean 28.4 °C (based on 2883 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5005   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02239 (0.01732 - 0.02894), b=2.95 (2.88 - 3.02), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.3   ±0.42 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tmax=6; Fec=1,500-2,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 110 [52, 178] mg/100g; Iron = 0.796 [0.461, 1.348] mg/100g; Protein = 18.2 [17.0, 19.3] %; Omega3 = 0.117 [0.065, 0.201] g/100g; Selenium = 19.4 [9.7, 40.5] μg/100g; VitaminA = 185 [52, 631] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.52 [0.99, 2.25] mg/100g (wet weight);