''Neoglyphidodon melas'', also known as the bowtie damselfish, black damsel, bluefin or royal damsel, 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 ...

found in the Indo-West Pacific. It grows to a size of in length.

Distribution and habitat

The black damselfish is found throughout the Indo-Pacific in coral reefs and lagoons. In the Indian Ocean, they are found around the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

, the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

, eastern Africa, Madagascar,

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

, the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

, Sri Lanka, the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

, the

Andaman Sea The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and the west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated f ...

, Indonesia, and western Australia. In the Pacific Ocean, they are found in areas around Indonesia, Australia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, Papua New Guinea,

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

, and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

. they are found in depths of under sea level.

Description

The adults of this species can grow up to in length. The coloration of the adults are blueish black.Dianne J. Bray
"Black Damsel, Neoglyphidodon melas (Cuvier 1830)
Retrieved on 16 November 2014. Juveniles are mostly pale blue with a yellow dorsal surface. They have blue pelvic and anal fins with black interior rays.

Ecology

Fish of this species are typically encountered individually or in pairs. Juveniles are encountered around

Acropora ''Acropora'' is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. ''Acropora'' species are some of the major reef corals ...

corals. Adults are found around clams of the genus

Tridacna ''Tridacna'' is a genus of large saltwater clams, Marine (ocean), marine bivalve molluscs in the subfamily Tridacninae, the giant clams. Many Tridacna species are threatened. They have heavy shells, fluted with 4 to 6 folds. The Mantle (mollus ...

and sometimes feed on their waste.

Diet

''Neoglyphidodon melas'' is an omnivorous species of damselfish which feeds on a variety of things. Younger juveniles feed solely on plankton.Chan, Sai-Wing
"Ontogenetic Changes in Feeding Ecology and Habitat of the Damselfish Neoglyphidodon melas at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef"
1 November 2007. Retrieved on 15 November 2014. Older juveniles of this species add soft corals to their diet. Young adults feed on

clam feces, with feces consumption increasing with age and size.

Behavior

Adults are territorial towards one another and will defend territorial borders. Large adults are observed to be aggressive to smaller individuals.

Breeding

Adults pair up when they are breeding. The eggs are laid in the substrate. Once the eggs are laid, the male guards and aerates the eggs until they hatch.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2478328

melas Melas may refer to: People * Melas (mythology), a number of different characters in Greek mythology * Melas, an Ancient Greek first name. Its most notable holders were Melas the Elder and Younger, two tyrants of Ephesus whose dynasty intermarried ...

Fish described in 1830 Taxa named by Georges Cuvier