Family: POMACENTRIDAE, Damselfish, Damselfishes, Sergeant-Majors, Night-Sergeants, Gregories, Chromis

FAMILY POMACENTRIDAE

DAMSELFISHES, SERGEANT-MAJORS, NIGHT-SERGEANTS, GREGORIES, CHROMIS

Damselfishes are small (to 35 cm), elongate to ovoid, compressed fishes; 1 pair of nostrils (in neotropical genera); mouth small, protrusible, opens at front; jaw teeth conical, incisors or brush-like; no teeth on roof of mouth; gill rakers small, usually < 35-40; a single continuous dorsal fin, XII-XIV, 10-17 in the neotropics (up to XVII, 21 in other regions), base of the spinous part longer than the soft part; anal fin II (rarely III), 10-14; caudal fin concave to forked; scales are moderately large and rough; body scaled, head largely scaled, as are the basal parts of the median fins; lateral line incomplete or interrupted.

The damselfish family Pomacentridae occurs worldwide in tropical and temperate seas. Approximately three-fourths of the 384 known species from 29 genera are found in the Indo-West Pacific region where they are common inhabitants of coral reefs. In the Greater Caribbean there are 19 species in 4 genera: 10 endemics, 2 SW Atlantic, 4 W Atlantic and 3 Pan-Atlantic.