Species: Stegastes diencaeus, Longfin Damselfish

Stegastes diencaeus (Jordan & Rutter, 1897)

Longfin Damselfish

Body deeply oval, compressed; 1 pair of nostrils; margin of preopercle serrated; margin of bone under eye serrated, without notch between it and the bone before it; mouth small, protrusible, opens at front; teeth in single row, long and close-set incisors; 10-11 lower gill rakers; a single continuous dorsal fin, XII, 14-17; anal fin II, 13; dorsal and anal fins long and rounded, reaching past base of tail fin; pectoral rays 19-21; no projecting short spines at upper and lower base of tail fin; caudal fin bluntly forked, lobes large and rounded; scales are moderately large and rough; body scaled, head largely scaled (snout scaled to nostrils), as are the basal parts of the median fins; lateral line incomplete, ends under end of dorsal fin base; lateral-line scales 19-20.

Adult: blackish to grey; snout, upper edge of eye-ball and nape with yellowish-brown cast; outer margin of anal fin with thin bright blue line. Juvenile: bright yellow body and fins; snout, nape and top of back grey-brown; 2 dotted blue lines along snout, top of head and upper back; a large black and blue ocellus at base of rear dorsal fin spines and upper body.

Size 12.5 cm.

Occurs on reefs, usually in sheltered areas.

Depth: about 0-45 m.

North Carolina to the S Caribbean.