Family POMACENTRIDAE

Pomacentridae

Parma unifasciata from NSW

<I>Chromis vanderbilti</I> from Norfolk Island

Chromis vanderbilti from Norfolk Island

Museums

Museum list

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CAAB: 37372000

Family POMACENTRIDAE

Damselfishes

Compiler and date details

24 May 2017 - Dianne J. Bray, Gerald R. Allen, Douglass F. Hoese, Norbert J. Cross & Connie J. Allen & Alice M. Clement

15 May 2015 - Dianne J. Bray, Gerald R. Allen, Norbert J. Cross & Connie J. Allen & Alice M. Clement

Gerald R. Allen, Norbert J. Cross & Connie J. Allen

Introduction

The Pomacentridae, commonly known as damselfishes, is the third largest fish family in Australia after the Gobiidae and the Labridae. The family comprises more than 390 species in 28 genera (Eschmeyer & Fong 2014). Nelson et al. (2016) indicated 29 genera and 387 species. From Australia including territorial waters, 155 species and 22 genera are thus far known. Allen (1991) recognised four subfamilies: Amphiprioninae (including Amphiprion and Premnas); Chrominae (including Acanthochromis, Auzurina, Chromis, Dascyllus and Mecaenichthys); Lepidozyginae (including only Lepidozygus) and Pomacentrinae (including the remaining genera). Tang (2001), Jang-Liaw et al. (2002), Quenouille et al. (2004), Tang et al. (2004), & Cooper et al. (2009) studied phylogenetic relationships and found the subfamilies Chrominae and Pomacentrinae, along with a number of traditionally recognised genera to be polyphyletic. The subfamily arrangement is not used here. Nelson et al (2016) placed the family with various families included here as Percoidei (eg. Pseudochromidae, Ambassidae, Grammatidae, etc.), but retained the subfamilies of Allen (1991).

The family is represented in all tropical and warm temperate seas, and most species inhabit coral reefs. However the monotypic Mecaenichthys and most members of the genus Parma are found on rocky reefs of southern Australia. A variety of feeding modes are displayed, and most species feed on either small invertebrates or benthic algae, or frequently a combination of these items. Others have very specialised food requirements, for example species of Cheiloprion and Plectroglyphidodon feed on coral polyps and most species of Chromis consume zooplankton. Pomacentrids are laterally compressed fishes with an ovate to fusiform body. They are small, usually under 15 cm in length, but more frequently less than 8 cm. Because of their small size the group is of little commercial importance, although some of the colourful species, such as the anemonefishes (Amphiprion), are sold in the aquarium industry (Fautin & Allen 1992).

Diagnoses, illustrations and keys for most of the Australian species are provided by Allen (1975a, 1991). Species are variously treated in Randall & Allen (1997), Allen (2001) and Allen & Erdmann (2012). Generic revisions include those of Allen (1972, 1975b) on Amphiprion, Allen & Hoese (1975) on Parma, Randall & Allen (1977) on Dascyllus and Allen & Emery (1985) on Stegastes Bernardi & Crane (1999) and McCafferty et al. (2002) studied molecular systematics of Dascyllus, and Tang et al. (2004) studied molecular systematics of five genera. Various authors (Tang 2001; Jang-Liaw et al. 2002; Quenouille et al. 2004; Cooper et al. 2009) studied molecular systematics of the family. Cooper & Westneat (2009) studied the form and function of damselfish skulls. Larvae are treated in Kavanagh et al. (2000).