Abudefduf whitleyi
Whitleys Sergeant
Abudefduf whitleyi, adult, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Abudefduf whitleyi, adult, NSW, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Abudefduf whitleyi, juvenile, Moruya, NSW, Australia, Photo: Andrew Green
Abudefduf whitleyi, Hudson Is, Qld, Australia, Photo: Andrew Green
Similar Species
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Six faint, narrow dark bars that are difficult to discern towards rear of body. Dark pointed dorsal and anal fin and tail. Juveniles have a scissor-tail, like A. sexfasciatus, but differ by not having light margins outside the black tail markings, as well as by having dark margins on rear dorsal and anal fins. Usually found in large schools, feeding on plankton and algae in the mid water above shallow reef crests.
Information
Max Size: 14 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 19-29.9°C
Depth: 1-5m
Habitat Generalization Index: 9.14
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Not Evaluated
Occurrence: Frequent (13.1% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Many (21 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Rick S-S