Plectroglyphidodon lacrymatus
Jewel damsel
Plectroglyphidodon lacrymatus, adult, Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, QLD, Photo: Andrew Green
Plectroglyphidodon lacrymatus, Intermediate, Aceh, Indonesia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Plectroglyphidodon lacrymatus, juvenile, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Similar Species
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Dark body covered by even scattering of small blue spots, in large individuals sometimes only evident upon close inspection or under artificial light. Pale white to yellow tail, becoming dusky with age, and often yellow eye and dark scale margins. Individuals can sometimes be a light yellow-brown instead of dark, and all shades in between. Live close to the reef in holes and caves but come out to aggressively defend their territory.
Information
Max Size: 10 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 22.1-31.2°C
Depth: 1-40m
Habitat Generalization Index: 30.38
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: Common (41.1% 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 (17 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.