Dascyllus is a genus of fish in the family Pomacentridae. They are usually commensals with corals.Youtube <<Advance Marine Aquarium>> Creatures section, Damselfish - Author:Sublanding Fish[2020-06-19]
Taxonomy Three species complexes have been proposed: the D. aruanus complex (D. aruanus, D. abudafur, D. melanurus), the D. trimaculatus complex (D. trimaculatus, D. albisella, D. auripinnis, D. strasburgi), and the D. reticulatus complex (D. reticulatus, D. carneus, D. marginatus, D. flavicaudus). However, only the D. aruanus complex and the D. trimaculatus complex are monophyletic. The species of the D. aruanus complex are the most basal in the genus Dascyllus.
Biology Species of the genus Dascyllus are found in the Indo-West Pacific, and are primarily planktivorous.
The species of the D. trimaculatus complex are the largest in size, growing up to 90–110 mm (SL). All other species are smaller, reaching 50–65 mm (SL), with the exception of D. flavicaudus, which reaches 90 mm (SL).
The D. trimaculatus complex is strongly associated with sea anemones as juveniles. Some and potentially all species in the D. trimaculatus group are gonochoristic, but all other species are protogynous (ie, females can change sex and become males as they grow older or larger). It is likely that protogyny arose once in the common ancestor of the genus Dascyllus, which was then lost in the ancestor of the D. trimaculatus complex. All Dascyllus species are demersal spawners, and in all species, the female lays her eggs in nests prepared by a male, and the eggs are tended by the male until hatching.
Species Currently, 11 recognized species are placed in this genus: +SpeciesCommon nameImageDascyllus abudafur (Forsskål, 1775)Indian Ocean humbugDascyllus albisella T. N. Gill, 1862Hawaiian dascyllusDascyllus aruanus (Linnaeus, 1758)Pacific Ocean humbug, whitetail dascyllusDascyllus auripinnis J. E. Randall & H. A. Randall, 2001Golden domino dascyllusDascyllus carneus J. G. Fischer, 1885Cloudy dascyllusDascyllus emamo (Lesson, 1831)Polynesian humbugDascyllus flavicaudus H. A. Randall & G. R. Allen, 1977Yellowtail dascyllusDascyllus marginatus (Rüppell, 1829)Marginate dascyllusDascyllus melanurus Bleeker, 1854Blacktail humbugDascyllus reticulatus (J. Richardon, 1846)Reticulate dascyllusDascyllus strasburgi Klausewitz, 1960Strasburg's dascyllusDascyllus trimaculatus (Rüppell, 1829)Threespot dascyllus
Trivia Deb, a character in the animated film Finding Nemo, is a damselfish of genus Dascyllus.Kirkeby, C. What Kind of Creature Is It? Finding Nemo - Cast of Characters. ClassBrain.com May 22, 2004.
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