Species: Abudefduf taurus, Night sergeant


Abudefduf taurus (Muller & Troschel in Schomburgk, 1848)
Night sergeant
Body relatively deep, oblong, compressed, robust; 1 pair of nostrils; preorbital bone narrow, without a notch above top lip; suborbital bone under eye fused to cheek, its lower border completely covered with scales, that bone and preopercle both with smooth edges; mouth small, protrusible, opens at front; teeth in single row, with notched or flat tips; a single continuous dorsal fin, XIII,11-12; anal fin II, 10; no projecting short spines at upper and lower base of tail fin; caudal fin bluntly forked; scales are moderately large and rough; body scaled, head largely scaled, as are the basal parts of the median fins; lateral line incomplete, ends under end of dorsal fin base; 19-20 scales on lateral line.
Tan, often with a yellowish case; nape and body with 4 irregular dark bars that are wider than pale interspaces, a 5th narrow dark bar and a dark blotch on top of tail base.
Maximum size to 25 cm.
Inhabits shallow wave swept areas of reefs & rocky shorelines
Depth: 0-5 m, usually <1 m.
The tropical and subtropical E&W Atlantic; 33N to 20S.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Reef only
- Rocks
- Corals
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Omnivore
- Corallivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Soft corals/hydroids
- Data
- Benthic microalgae
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Egg Type
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- Pelagic larva
- Data
- Benthic
- Global Endemism
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- Transatlantic (East+West Atlantic)
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- All species.
- Regional Endemism
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- GC non-endemic
- Continent + Island (s)
- Island (s)
- All species..
- Continent
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 25
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 5