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Microspathodon dorsalis (Gill, 1862)

Giant damselfish
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Microspathodon dorsalis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Microspathodon dorsalis (Giant damselfish)
Microspathodon dorsalis
Picture by Fenner, R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Ovalentaria/misc (Various families in series Ovalentaria) > Pomacentridae (Damselfishes) > Microspathodontinae
Etymology: Microspathodon: Greek, mikros = small + Greek, spatha = spathe + Greek, odous = teeth (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Gill.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 1 - 5 m (Ref. 9334). Tropical; 28°N - 2°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Pacific: central Gulf of California to Malpelo Island (Colombia), including the Revillagigedo, Cocos and the Galapagos islands (Ref. 9334).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 31.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 28023); max. reported age: 20 years (Ref. 52465)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15 - 16; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 13 - 14.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults inhabit rocky reefs, below the surf zone (Ref. 9334). Feed mainly on low-profile, attached algae (Ref. 28023). Defend both feeding and reproductive territories by driving off other fishes and divers who come too close (Ref. 28023). Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). Eggs are demersal and adhere to the substrate (Ref. 205). Males guard and aerate the eggs (Ref. 205).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). Eggs are demersal and adhere to the substrate (Ref. 205). Males guard and aerate the eggs (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Allen, Gerald R. | Collaborators

Allen, G.R., 1991. Damselfishes of the world. Mergus Publishers, Melle, Germany. 271 p. (Ref. 7247)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 27 May 2008

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
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Abundance
Life cycle
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Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
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Eggs
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Larvae
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Distribution
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Anatomy
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References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.2 - 29.2, mean 28.8 °C (based on 906 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5625   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01995 (0.00910 - 0.04376), b=2.99 (2.80 - 3.18), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.1   ±0.05 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tmax=20).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (28 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 59.4 [28.8, 106.5] mg/100g; Iron = 0.595 [0.338, 1.029] mg/100g; Protein = 18.1 [16.8, 19.4] %; Omega3 = 0.0723 [, ] g/100g; Selenium = 21.3 [10.4, 45.0] μg/100g; VitaminA = 60.4 [13.1, 242.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.63 [1.08, 2.50] mg/100g (wet weight);