The sergeant major or píntano (''Abudefduf saxatilis'') is a species of

damselfish Damselfish are those fish within the subfamilies Abudefdufinae, Chrominae, Lepidozyginae, Pomacentrinae, and Stegastinae within the family Pomacentridae. Most species within this group are relatively small, although the four largest speci ...

. It grows to a maximum length of about .

Distribution and habitat

''Abudefduf saxatilis'' is found in the Atlantic Ocean. Populations in the western part of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

are found from the northeastern coast of the United States south to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

, islands around the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

, and the eastern coast of Central and South America to

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. In the eastern Atlantic, they are found from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

, the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

, and western

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. Its distribution remains unclear in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

due to possible confusion with '' A. vaigiensis'' and '' A. troschelii''. Juveniles are common in

tidal pools A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. These pools typically range from a few inches to a few feet deep and a few feet across. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only ...

, while adults are found over

coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. ...

. Sergeant majors are found down to .

Description

Adults can grow to a maximum of , but more typically grow to . The largest recorded specimen weighed had a weight of . ''A. saxatilis'' has 13 dorsal spines, 12 to 13 dorsal soft rays, two anal spines, and 10 to 12 anal soft rays. This fish is white with a yellow top. It has five black or dark blue, vertical stripes. A faint sixth stripe might be present on the caudal peduncle. Adult males have a more bluish coloration and their stripes are less visible. A dark spot surrounds their pectoral fins.

Ecology

Diet

This fish feeds upon the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...

(such as

copepod Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthos, benthic (living on the sedimen ...

s and

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

larvae), pelagic

tunicate Tunicates are marine invertebrates belonging to the subphylum Tunicata ( ). This grouping is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords (including vertebrates). The subphylum was at one time ...

s, smaller fish,

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s, and various species of

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

(both benthic and pelagic). It is also known to feed on the waste and vomit of

spinner dolphin The spinner dolphin (''Stenella longirostris'') is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which it rotates around its longitudinal axis as it leaps through the air. It is a ...

Behavior

Individuals of this species form

shoals In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

of about several hundred individuals. Sometimes, they get cleaned of parasites by fish species, such as gobies in the genus '' Gobiosoma'', ''

Bodianus rufus The Spanish hogfish (''Bodianus rufus'') is a species of wrasse native to the western Atlantic Ocean, where it can be found from North Carolina and Bermuda through the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico to southern Brazil. It inhabits coral or ro ...

'', ''

Elacatinus figaro ''Elacatinus'' is a genus of small marine gobies, often known collectively as the neon gobies. Although only one species, ''E. oceanops'', is technically the "neon goby", because of their similar appearance, other members of the genus are ...

'', and '' Thalassoma noronhanum''. Sergeant majors also clean

green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exte ...

s along with '' Acanthurus chirurgus'' and ''

Acanthurus coeruleus ''Acanthurus coeruleus'' is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs, found in the Atlantic Ocean. It can grow up to long.Figueiredo, J.L. and N.A. Menezes, (2000). ''M ...

''.

Predators

Predators of this fish include '' Plectropomus leopardus'', ''

Thalassoma bifasciatum ''Thalassoma bifasciatum'', the bluehead, bluehead wrasse or blue-headed wrasse, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a wrasse from the family Labridae. It is native to the coral reefs of the tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean. In ...

'', '' Cephalopholis cruentata'', ''

Epinephelus striatus The Nassau grouper (''Epinephelus striatus'') is one of the large number of perciform fishes in the family Serranidae commonly referred to as groupers. It is the most important of the groupers for commercial fishery in the West Indies, but ha ...

'', '' Mycteroperca venenosa'', and ''

Rachycentron canadum The cobia (''Rachycentron canadum'') (, ) is a species of marine carangiform ray-finned fish, the only extant representative of the genus '' Rachycentron'' and the family Rachycentridae. Its other common names include black kingfish, black s ...

''.

In the aquarium

They are found in the aquarium trade, but are regarded as difficult to breed.

Reproduction

The sergeant major is an oviparous species in which the males create nests on rocks, reef outcrops, shipwrecks, and pilings, where the females lay their egg masses. The males actively chase the females in courtship before the female releases about 200,000 ref, ovoid eggs, which are attached to the substrate by a filament; the eggs turn greenish after a few days and are guarded by the male. As he guards the eggs, the male becomes bluish in colour, guarding them for about a week.

Etymology

Sergeant majors earn their name from their brightly striped sides, known as bars, which are reminiscent of the insignia of a military

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2070648

Sergeant major (fish) The sergeant major or píntano (''Abudefduf saxatilis'') is a species of damselfish. It grows to a maximum length of about . Distribution and habitat ''Abudefduf saxatilis'' is found in the Atlantic Ocean. Populations in the western part of the A ...

Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Marine fish of Nicaragua Fish described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fish of Aruba