Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes
(Perch-likes) > Pomacentridae
(Damselfishes) > Pomacentrinae
Etymology: Dascyllus: Greek, daskillys, -on = a kind of fish (Ref. 45335).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 5 - 40 m (Ref. 7247). Tropical
Indian Ocean: East Africa (south to Delagoa Bay), Mauritius, Réunion, St. Brandon's Shoals, Comoro Islands, Seychelles, Aldabra Islands, Chagos Archipelago, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Andaman Sea. Also occurs at the Seribu Islands, Java Sea.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 7.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4931)
Associated with branching corals on inshore and offshore reefs. They occur in small schools and feed on plankton (Ref. 48636). Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). Eggs are demersal and adhere to the substrate (Ref. 205). Males guard and aerate the eggs (Ref. 205). Diurnal species (Ref. 113699).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). Eggs are demersal and adhere to the substrate (Ref. 205). Males guard and aerate the eggs (Ref. 205).
Allen, G.R., 1991. Damselfishes of the world. Mergus Publishers, Melle, Germany. 271 p. (Ref. 7247)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 120744)
CITES (Ref. 118484)
Threat to humans
Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969
): 25.9 - 29, mean 27.4 (based on 120 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5005 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01479 (0.00668 - 0.03273), b=2.99 (2.80 - 3.18), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 2.7 ±0.29 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179
): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Low vulnerability (13 of 100) .