Fishes - Australian Museum Fish Site

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Dick's Damsel
Plectroglyphidodon dickii (Liénard, 1839)

Dick's Damsel
A Dick's Damsel at a depth of 12m, Wishbone Reef, Wreck Bay, far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, November 2001. View larger image.

Dick's Damsel is mostly brown with a black bar across the rear of the body. The pectoral fins are yellow, the caudal fin is white, and the operculum (glossary) often has a purplish tinge.

This species grows to 11cm in length.

Dick's Damsel inhabits coral reefs, lagoons and areas of high wave action. This fish is often seen as a solitary individual associated with Acropora or Pocillopora coral species.

It is found in depths from 1m to 15m.

This fish feeds on filamentous algae, benthic invertebrates and small fishes.

Dick's Damsel occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific, from East Africa, north to Japan, south to Australia and east to French Polynesia.

In Australia it is known from the central coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country, and south to southern Queensland.

View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.

Further reading

  1. Allen, G.R. 1975. Damselfishes of the South Seas. TFH Publications. Pp. 237.
  2. Allen, G.R. 1991. Damselfishes of the World. Mergus. Pp. 271.
  3. Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 220.
  4. Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. Coral Graphics. Pp. 330.
  5. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 251.
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