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Species: Abudefduf taurus, Night Sergeant

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tan + 5 wide dark bars
tail base: dark saddle

Abudefduf taurus (Müller & 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.


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