Species: Stegastes planifrons, Threespot Damselfish

Stegastes planifrons (Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1830)

Threespot Damselfish

Body relatively deep, 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; 8-9 lower gill rakers; a single continuous dorsal fin, XII, 15-17; anal fin II, 13-14; dorsal and anal fins long, extend past tail fin base, with large, rounded lobes; pectoral rays 18-20; no projecting short spines at upper and lower base of tail fin; caudal fin bluntly forked, lobes of tail large, bluntly 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 18-20.

Adult: entirely grey-brown, with tan tint to lower head and body; a black spot on the base of the pectoral fin and, sometimes, another on tail base; top of eye yellowish. Juvenile: body and fins bright yellow; a large black spot on base of dorsal fin at end of spines; a smaller black spot on upper base of tail.

Size: reaches 12.5 cm.

Shallow reefs.

Depth: 0-43 m.

Bermuda to the S Caribbean.