''Abudefduf'', also known as the sergeant-majors, is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of fish in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Pomacentridae Pomacentridae is a family of ray-finned fish, comprising the damselfishes and clownfishes. This family were formerly placed in the order Perciformes or as indeterminate percomorphs, but are now considered basal blenniiforms. They are primaril ...

. The name is from

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

ابو دفدوف ''abu'', "the one with"; and ''def'', "side", and the intensive plural ending ''-duf''. The name thus means "the one with prominent sides".

General biology

The approximately 20 species of ''Abudefduf'' may be divided into planktivores and benthivores and three broadly pantropical clades. Two of the ''Abudefduf'' clades are primarily benthivorous and a third clade is composed of planktivores and is the most species-rich. Most diversification has occurred in the last 10 million years within this genus across all clades.Youtube <> Creatures section, Damselfish - Author:Sublanding Fish 020-06-19/ref>

Species

The following 21 species are recognized in the genus ''Abudefduf'': * ''

Abudefduf abdominalis The green damselfish (''Abudefduf abdominalis''), also known as the Hawaiian sergeant major, is a non-migratory fish of the family Pomacentridae. This fish also goes by the name maomao It occurs in the Pacific Ocean in the vicinity of the Hawaiia ...

'' ( Quoy &

Gaimard Joseph Paul Gaimard (31 January 1793 – 10 December 1858) was a French naval surgeon and naturalist. Biography Gaimard was born at Saint-Zacharie on January 31, 1793. He studied medicine at the naval medical school in Toulon, subsequent ...

, 1825) (Hawaiian sergeant) * ''

Abudefduf bengalensis ''Abudefduf bengalensis'', known as the Bengal sergeant or the narrow-banded sergeant major, is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. It is a marine species native to the tropical Indo-Pacific, where it ranges from the eastern Indi ...

'' (

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter *Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter *Alfred Bloch ( ...

, 1787) (Bengal sergeant) * ''

Abudefduf caudobimaculatus ''Abudefduf caudobimaculatus'', commonly known as the Okinawa sergeant, is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific, where it is believed to range from East Africa to Yakushima and Lord Howe Island, inc ...

'' Okada & Ikeda, 1939Wibowo, Kunto & Toda, Minoru & Motomura, Hiroyuki. (2017). Validity of Abudefduf caudobimaculatus Okada and Ikeda 1939 and synonymies of Abudefduf vaigiensis (Quoy and Gaimard 1825) (Perciformes: Pomacentridae). Ichthyological Research. 65. 10.1007/s10228-017-0594-3. (Okinawa sergeant) * ''

Abudefduf concolor The dusky sergeant (''Abudefduf concolor''), also known as the night sergeant, is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae endemic to the eastern Pacific Ocean. The species can reach in total length. Geographic distribution ''Abudefd ...

'' ( T. N. Gill, 1862) (Dusky sergeant) * ''

Abudefduf conformis ''Abudefduf conformis'' is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. It is native to the eastern central Pacific Ocean, where it is known from the Marquesas Islands. The species typically occurs in reef environments at a depth of . ''A ...

'' J. E. Randall & Earle, 1999 * '' Abudefduf declivifrons'' ( T. N. Gill, 1862) (Mexican nightsergeant) * ''

Abudefduf hoefleri ''Abudefduf hoefleri'', commonly known as the African sergeant, is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean where it ranges from Senegal to Benin, including Cape Verde, Ilhéu das Rolas, and S ...

'' (

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner descri ...

, 1881) (African sergeant) * ''

Abudefduf lorenzi ''Abudefduf lorenzi'', commonly known as the black-tail sergeant, is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. It is native to the tropical western Pacific Ocean, where it ranges from the Philippines and the Maluku Islands to the Solom ...

'' Hensley & G. R. Allen, 1977 (Black-tail sergeant) * ''

Abudefduf margariteus ''Abudefduf margariteus'', commonly known as the pearly sergeant, is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. It is native to the western Indian Ocean, where it is only known from Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues. Adults of the specie ...

'' ( G. Cuvier, 1830) (Pearly sergeant) * '' Abudefduf natalensis'' Hensley & J. E. Randall, 1983 (Natal sergeant) * ''

Abudefduf nigrimargo ''Abudefduf nigrimargo'', known as the black margined-scale sergeant, is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. It is native to the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where it is known only from Taiwan. The species is known to occur above s ...

'' Wibowo, Koeda, Muto & Motomura, 2018 (Black margined-scale sergeant) * ''

Abudefduf notatus The yellowtail sergeant (''Abudefduf notatus'') is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae native to the Indo-Pacific. It can grow to a maximum total length of . Distribution and habitat This species of damselfish is found in the Ind ...

'' ( F. Day, 1870) (Yellowtail sergeant) * ''

Abudefduf saxatilis 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 ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoologic ...

) (Sergeant-major) * ''

Abudefduf septemfasciatus ''Abudefduf septemfasciatus'', commonly known as the banded sergeant, is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. The species is native to the Indo-Pacific and can reach in total length. Habitat and ecology ''Abudefduf septemfascia ...

'' ( G. Cuvier, 1830) (Banded sergeant) * '' Abudefduf sexfasciatus'' ( Lacépède, 1801) (Scissortail sergeant) * ''

Abudefduf sordidus ''Abudefduf sordidus'', commonly known as the blackspot sergeant or kūpīpī in Hawaii, is a large solitary damselfish in the family Pomacentridae native to the tropical Indo-Pacific. Description Blackspot sergeants are generally yellowish-gr ...

'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (Blackspot sergeant) * '' Abudefduf sparoides'' ( Quoy &

, 1825) (False-eye sergeant) * '' Abudefduf taurus'' (

Müller Müller may refer to: Companies * Müller (company), a German multinational dairy company ** Müller Milk & Ingredients, a UK subsidiary of the German company * Müller (store), a German retail chain * GMD Müller, a Swiss aerial lift manufacturi ...

& Troschel, 1848) (Night sergeant) * '' Abudefduf troschelii'' ( T. N. Gill, 1862) (Panamic sergeant-major) * '' Abudefduf vaigiensis'' ( Quoy &

, 1825) (Indo-Pacific sergeant) * '' Abudefduf whitleyi'' G. R. Allen & D. R. Robertson, 1974 (Whitley's sergeant)

Gallery

File:Abudefduf abdominalis by NPS 1.jpg, ''

'' File:Abudefduf bengalensis.jpg, ''

'' File:Abudefduf declivifrons.jpg, '' Abudefduf declivifrons'' File:Abudefduf notatus.JPG, ''

'' File:Abudefduf saxatilis - Bay of Pigs - Cuba.jpg, ''

'' File:Abudefduf septemfasciatus Réunion.jpg, ''

'' File:Abudefduf sexfasciatus Réunion.jpg, '' Abudefduf sexfasciatus'' File:Abudefduf sordidus Réunion.jpg, ''

'' File:Abudefduf sparoides Réunion.JPG, '' Abudefduf sparoides'' File:Pomacentridae - Abudefduf troschelii.JPG, '' Abudefduf troschelii'' File:Abudefduf vaigiensis.jpg, '' Abudefduf vaigiensis''

References

Pomacentrinae Marine fish genera Taxa named by Peter Forsskål {{Pomacentridae-stub