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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
sergeant
major |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Osteichthyes |
| ORDER: |
Perciformes |
| FAMILY: |
Pomacentridae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Abudefduf saxatilis |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Dorsal spines (total): 13-13; Dorsal softrays (total):
12-13; Anal spines: 2-2; Anal soft-rays: 10-12.
Yellow to gray dorsal, shading to white ventral,
with 5 distinct vertical black bars. Faint sixth
bar may be present along caudal peduncle. Adult
male exhibits dark blue to dark gray background
tonality during the mating season, with the black
bars concurrently less conspicuous. |
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| SIZE: |
10.2-15.2 cm (4-6 in) avg; 22.9 cm (9 in) max |
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| WEIGHT: |
200 g (0.4 lbs) max |
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| DIET: |
Algae, invertebrate larvae, small crustaceans, and
small fish |
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| INCUBATION: |
Species exhibits dioecism. Fertilization is external.
Spawns year-round. Species creates nesting site
which the male guards. |
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| RANGE: |
Western Atlantic: Rhode Island (seasonal extreme)
to Uruguay (seasonal extreme)
Eastern Atlantic: Mid-Atlantic islands, Cape Verde
south to Angola
Western Pacific: Great Barrier Reef, Australia |
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| HABITAT: |
1-15 meters in tropical & sub-tropical marine
and/or brackish coastal waters |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not listed |
| CITES |
Not listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
Adults
will often form large feeding aggregations - sometimes
containing several hundred individuals. |
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| 2. |
Adult males adopt a bluish hue while guarding the
nesting site. |
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| 3. |
This species is commonly referred to as "sergeant
major" as it exhibits five black bars - resembling
the insignia of said rank in the military services. |
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| 4. |
Male
sergeant majors exhibit a dark blue to dark gray
background tonality during the breeding season.
Beyond that, sexual dimorphism is minimal; thereby
making it rather difficult to distinguish male from
female via casual observation. |
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| 5. |
Male
sergeant majors guard the eggs during the four days
incubation period prior to hatching. |
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| 6. |
For
more information about bony fishes, explore the
bony
fishes info book. |
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| The
current global trend of coral reef depletion could
ultimately effect severe change to sergeant major
populations; however, there are no currently identified
significant threats to the species. |
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| |
|
|
| Bond,
Carl E. Biology of Fishes - Second Edition.
Saunders College Publishing, 1996. |
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|
Humann, Paul. Reef Fish Identification - Florida,
Caribbean, Bahamas. New World Publications,
Inc., 1992. |
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www.fishbase.org
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| www.bio.utexas.edu |
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