Dascyllus aruanus, Whitetail dascyllus : aquarium

You can sponsor this page

Dascyllus aruanus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Whitetail dascyllus
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Dascyllus aruanus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Videos | Stamps, Coins Misc. | Google image
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 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 Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | 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

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
BRUVS
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Nutrients
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

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);