The Canary damsel (''Similiparma lurida''), or Cape Verde gregory (which is also a common name of '' Stegastes imbricatus'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of marine fish of 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 ...

. It lives primary in shallow, subtropical waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

Description

Canary damsels have large eyes, and is primarily black to brownish black, with lighter colors on the ventral part of the body and blue fin margins. Juveniles may have lateral stripes on their bodies as well. During their

mating season Seasonal breeders are animal species that successfully mate only during certain times of the year. These times of year allow for the optimization of survival of young due to factors such as ambient temperature, food and water availability, and ch ...

, adults exhibit

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

. Individuals may grow to 15 cm in length.

Distribution and habitat

Canary damsels are commonly associated with rocky inshore areas of the eastern Atlantic Ocean; specifically, they are found in the waters of

Macaronesia Macaronesia (; ) is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlantic, North Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of list of islands in the Atlantic Oc ...

(

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

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 ...

Savage Islands The Savage Islands or Selvagens Islands ( ; also known as the Salvage Islands) are a small Portugal, Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Madeira and north of the Canary Islands.30,000), white-faced storm-petrel (>80,0 ...

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 Senegal at depths to about . Juveniles may be found in

tide pool 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 ...

s.Quignard, J.-P. & Pras, A. (1986): Pomacentridae. p. 916-918. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L., Bauchot, J.-C., Hureau, J.N. & Tortonese, E. (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. ''UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.''

Diet

Canary damsels feed primarily on

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 ...

and small invertebrates.Reiner, F. (1996): Catálogo dos peixes do Arquipélago de Cabo Verde. ''Publicações avulsas do IPIMAR No. 2. 339 p.''

Reproduction

The eggs of Canary damsels are demersal and attach to substrates. They are laid in a nest, and protected by the male.

Relationship with humans

The Canary damsel is sometimes harvested for use in saltwater aquaria, but this is done on a very small scale. This, along with a non-fragmented range, no evidence of population decline and the fact that the Canary damsel is found in many marine protected regions, has led the IUCN to classify it as "Least Concern". File:Abudefduf luridus.jpg File:Fula negra (Abudefduf luridus), Madeira, Portugal, 2019-05-31, DD 43.jpg File:Abudefduf luridus1.jpg

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q967991

Canary damsel The Canary damsel (''Similiparma lurida''), or Cape Verde gregory (which is also a common name of '' Stegastes imbricatus'') is a species of marine fish of the family Pomacentridae. It lives primary in shallow, subtropical waters of the eastern ...

Fauna of Macaronesia Fauna of the Azores Vertebrates of the Canary Islands Fauna of the Gambia Fauna of Madeira