Yellowtail Sergeant

Scientific Name: Abudefduf notatus
Family: Damselfishes – Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 15cm
Identification: Gray with 5 narrow white bars (including band on tail base); yellow tail.
Favourite: Usually form schools, but occasionally solitary.
Hide-out: Rocky inshore reefs with moderate to strong wave action to 12m.
Location: Indo-Asian Pacific – E. Africa to New Britain east of Papua New Guinea, north to S.W. Japan.

Indo-Pacific Sergeant

Scientific Name: Abudefduf vaigiensis
Family: Damselfishes – Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 19cm
Identification: Gray with 5 black to purple or blue bars (including bar at tail base); frequently with yellow back.
Favourite: Usually form feeding groups in mid-water or guard nests inside rocky crevices.
Hide-out: Shoreline reefs and outer slopes to 12m.
Location: Indo-Pacific – Red Sea and E. Africa to Line Is. and French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef.

Green Sergeant

Scientific Name: Abudefduf whitleyi
Family: Damselfishes – Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 15cm
Identification: Pale green to yellowish green and blue-green with 4-5 narrow black bars; tail and outer edges of dorsal and anal fins blackish.
Favourite: Solitary or form groups.
Hide-out: Outer edge of reefs and surge gutters to 5m.
Location: Southwestern Pacific – Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea and New Caledonia.

Banded Sergeant

Scientific Name: Abudefduf septemfasciatus
Family: Damselfishes – Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 19cm
Identification: Whitish with 6-7 dark grayish bars, upper first 2-3 bars often intensely dark.
Favourite: Form small groups.
Hide-out: Rocky inshore reefs with mild to moderate surge conditions to 3m.
Location: Indo-Pacific – E. Africa to Line Is. and French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef.

Richardson’s Reef-Damsel

Scientific Name: Pomachromis richardsoni
Family: Damselfishes – Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 5.5cm
Identification: Light brown upper head gradating to light blue-gray with dark scale margins on upper body; black streak on upper tail base, black tail borders.
Favourite: Form groups.
Hide-out: Exposed reefs in 10-20m.
Location: Indo-West Pacific – Reunion and Mauritius Is. to New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa. Taiwan and S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef.