Dascyllus melanurus

Blacktail Humbug
Dascyllus melanurus
Dascyllus melanurus, adult, Photo: Graham Edgar

Distribution

Tropical Indo-Pacific


Description

Black and white bands of near equal width. Similar D. aruanus (Banded Humbug) lacks black on tail, and Chrysiptera tricincta (Threeband Demoiselle) has white on pelvic fin. Lives in small aggregations above staghorn coral in lagoons, retreating amongst the branches when approached.


Information

Max Size: 8 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 24.6-31.7°C

Depth: 1-68m

Habitat Generalization Index: N/A

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: Infrequent (1.9% 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 (33 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.