Dascyllus aruanus, known commonly as the whitetail dascyllus or humbug damselfish among other vernacular names, is a species of marine fish in the family Pomacentridae.[1]

Whitetail dascyllus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Family: Pomacentridae
Genus: Dascyllus
Species:
D. aruanus
Binomial name
Dascyllus aruanus
Synonyms
  • Tetradrachmum arcuatum Cantor, 1850
  • Chaetodon aruanus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Tetradrachmum aruanum (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Chaetodon arcuanus Gmelin, 1789
  • Pomacentrus emamo Lesson, 1831
  • Dascyllus blochii Castelnau, 1875
  • Pomacentrus trifasciatus De Vis, 1884
  • Pomacentrus devisi D.S. Jordan & Seale, 1906
  • Abudefduf caroli Curtiss, 1938

Description edit

Whitetail dascyllus is up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in length but its common size is 6 centimetres (2.4 in) and is white with three black vertical bars.[2]

Habitat edit

Associated with coral reefs, most usually in groups above Acropora coral heads. Males may be aggressive against other fish while they tend eggs.[2]

Distribution edit

Whitetail dascyllus is widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region, Red Sea included.[1][3] However, the species has recently been split with D. aruanus found in the Pacific and Forsskål's 1775 name Dascyllus abudafur being resurrected for the Red Sea and Indian Ocean populations.[4]

In aquaculture edit

They are called aquarium 'Starter fish' as they are quite tolerant of variable conditions and aid in conditioning the tank environment for less hardy fish. These fish have been reared in captivity. They can be territorial with other fish. The adult is quite aggressive.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Demoiselle a trois bandes noirs Dascyllus aruanus (Linnaeus, 1758)" (in French). Données d'Observations pour la Reconnaissance et l'Identification de la faune et la flore Subaquatiques. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2018). "Dascyllus aruanus" in FishBase. June 2018 version.
  3. ^ "demoiselle à trois bandes noires Dascyllus aruanus décrit par Linnaeus, 1758". Sous Les Mers. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  4. ^ Borsa, P.; Sembiring, A.; Fauvelot, C.; Chen, W.-J. (2014). "Resurrection of Indian Ocean humbug damselfish, Dascyllus abudafur (Forsskål) from synonymy with its Pacific Ocean sibling, Dascyllus aruanus (L.)" (PDF). Comptes Rendus Biologies. 337 (12): 709–716. doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2014.09.001. PMID 25433563.
  5. ^ Youtube <<Advance Marine Aquarium>> Creatures section, Damselfish - Author:Sublanding Fish[2020-06-19]