Genus: Abudefduf, Night Sergeants, Sergeant Damselfish, Sergeant Majors

ABUDEFDUF

SERGEANT MAJORS, NIGHT SERGEANTS

Body relatively deep, oblong to oval, compressed; 1 pair of nostrils; mouth small, protrusible, opens at front; teeth in single row, front teeth with notched flat tips; bone under eye and under preopercle both with smooth edges; a single continuous dorsal fin, XIII, 11-16; anal fin with II spines; no projecting short spines at upper and lower base of tail fin; caudal fin 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.

A circumtropical genus of about 25 species. There are 2 pan-Atlantic species in the Greater Caribbean.