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Dascyllus trimaculatus (Rüppell, 1829)

Threespot dascyllus
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Dascyllus trimaculatus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Dascyllus trimaculatus (Threespot dascyllus)
Dascyllus trimaculatus
Picture by Randall, J.E.

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) > Chrominae
Etymology: Dascyllus: Greek, daskillys, -on = a kind of fish (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Rüppell.

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

Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 0 - 55 m (Ref. 7247). Tropical; 32°N - 36°S, 24°E - 128°W

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

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to the Line and Pitcairn islands, north to southern Japan, south to Sydney, Australia. Not found in the Hawaiian and Marquesan islands.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 14.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 89972); max. published weight: 45.21 g (Ref. 126022)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14 - 16; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 14 - 15. Juveniles overall black with scale centers bluish; white blotch on forehead and upper sides; all fins black except the transparent pectoral and outer portion of soft dorsal rays. Geographic and behavioral color of adults variable; no spot on forehead; spot on upper sides very reduced; head and fins normally black; scales with black margins. Margins of preorbital, suborbital and preoperculum finely serrated (Ref. 2746). Nuptial fish generally paler color. Body depth 1.4-1.6 in SL (Ref. 90102).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults inhabit coral and rocky reefs, juveniles often commensal with large sea anemones, sea urchins, or small coral heads (Ref. 4391, 48636). They occur in small to large aggregations. Stomach contents include algae, copepods, and other planktonic crustaceans (Ref. 7247). 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). Diurnal species (Ref. 54980; 120737). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.

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). Courtship characterized by male 'signal-jumping'. Captive pair reported to spawn thrice monthly with a total of 17 over a 7-month period (Ref. 2856). While protogyny was originally proposed for this species, recent studies confirmed gonochorism in the form of non-functional hermaphroditism (Ref. 103751).

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: 23 September 2021

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
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Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Maturity/Gills rel.
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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | 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): 24.6 - 29, mean 28 °C (based on 1240 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5005   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.03467 (0.02169 - 0.05544), b=2.93 (2.80 - 3.06), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.0   ±0.24 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Fec=20,000-25,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 90.3 [45.4, 146.6] mg/100g; Iron = 0.802 [0.476, 1.335] mg/100g; Protein = 18 [17, 19] %; Omega3 = 0.115 [0.067, 0.193] g/100g; Selenium = 27.9 [13.9, 57.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 123 [33, 443] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.48 [0.97, 2.15] mg/100g (wet weight);