Dascyllus

Dascyllus
Dascyllus aruanus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Blenniiformes
Family:	Pomacentridae
Subfamily:	Chrominae
Genus:	Dascyllus G. Cuvier, 1829
Type species
Chaetodon aruanus Linnaeus, 1758 [1]
Synonyms
PireneGistel, 1848 TetradrachmumCantor, 1850 PellochromisFowler and Bean, 1928 SemadascyllusFowler, 1941

Dascyllus is a genus of fish in the family Pomacentridae. They are usually commensals with corals. ^{[2] [1] [3]}

Taxonomy

Three species complexes have been proposed: the D. aruanus complex ( D. aruanus , D. abudafur , D. melanurus ), ^{[4] [5]} the D. trimaculatus complex ( D. trimaculatus , D. albisella , D. auripinnis , D. strasburgi ), and the D. reticulatus complex ( D. reticulatus , D. carneus , D. marginatus , D. flavicaudus ). However, only the D. aruanus complex and the D. trimaculatus complex are monophyletic. ^{[6] [5]} The species of the D. aruanus complex are the most basal in the genus Dascyllus. ^[5]

Biology

Species of the genus Dascyllus are found in the Indo-West Pacific, and are primarily planktivorous. ^[5]

The species of the D. trimaculatus complex are the largest in size, growing up to 90–110 mm (SL). All other species are smaller, reaching 50–65 mm (SL), with the exception of D. flavicaudus, which reaches 90 mm (SL). ^[5]

Juvenile D. trimaculata hosting Stichodactyla haddoni .

The D. trimaculatus complex is strongly associated with sea anemones as juveniles. ^{[6] [7] [8]} Some and potentially all species in the D. trimaculatus group are gonochoristic, but all other species are protogynous (ie, females can change sex and become males as they grow older or larger). It is likely that protogyny arose once in the common ancestor of the genus Dascyllus, which was then lost in the ancestor of the D. trimaculatus complex. All Dascyllus species are demersal spawners, and in all species, the female lays her eggs in nests prepared by a male, and the eggs are tended by the male until hatching. ^[5]

Species

Currently, 11 recognized species are placed in this genus:

Species	Common name	Image
Dascyllus abudafur (Forsskål, 1775) [9]	Indian Ocean humbug
Dascyllus albisella T. N. Gill, 1862	Hawaiian dascyllus
Dascyllus aruanus (Linnaeus, 1758)	Whitetail dascyllus
Dascyllus auripinnis J. E. Randall & H. A. Randall, 2001 [10]	Golden domino dascyllus
Dascyllus carneus J. G. Fischer, 1885	Cloudy dascyllus
Dascyllus flavicaudus H. A. Randall & G. R. Allen, 1977 [1]	Yellowtail dascyllus
Dascyllus marginatus (Rüppell, 1829)	Marginate dascyllus
Dascyllus melanurus Bleeker, 1854	Blacktail humbug
Dascyllus reticulatus (J. Richardon, 1846)	Reticulate dascyllus
Dascyllus strasburgi Klausewitz, 1960 [11]	Strasburg's dascyllus
Dascyllus trimaculatus (Rüppell, 1829)	Threespot dascyllus

Trivia

Deb, a character in the animated film Finding Nemo , is a damselfish of genus Dascyllus. ^[12]

References

1. Randall, H. A.; Allen, Gerald R. (1977). "A revision of the damselfish genus Dascyllus (Pomacentridae) with the description of a new species" (PDF). Records of the Australian Museum. 31 (9): 349–385. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.31.1977.217. ISSN   0067-1975. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
2. Stevenson, R. A. (1963). "Behavior of the Pomacentrid Reef Fish Dascyllus albisella Gill in Relation to the Anemone Marcanthia cookei". Copeia. 1963 (4): 612–614. doi:10.2307/1440960. JSTOR   1440960.
3. Youtube <<Advance Marine Aquarium>> Creatures section, Damselfish - Author:Sublanding Fish[2020-06-19]
4. Borsa, Philippe; Sembiring, Andrianus; Fauvelot, Cécile; Chen, Wei-Jen (2014). "Resurrection of Indian Ocean humbug damselfish, Dascyllus abudafur (Forsskål) from synonymy with its Pacific Ocean sibling, Dascyllus aruanus (L.)". Comptes Rendus. Biologies (in French). 337 (12): 709–716. doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2014.09.001. ISSN   1768-3238.
5. McCafferty, S.; Bermingham, E.; Quenouille, B.; Planes, S.; Hoelzer, G.; Asoh, K. (August 2002). "Historical biogeography and molecular systematics of the Indo-Pacific genus Dascyllus (Teleostei: Pomacentridae)" . Molecular Ecology. 11 (8): 1377–1392. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294X.2002.01533.x. ISSN   0962-1083.
6. Leray, Matthieu; Beldade, Ricardo; Holbrook, Sally J.; Schmitt, Russell J.; Planes, Serge; Bernardi, Giacomo (January 2010). "Allopatric Divergence and Speciation in Coral Reef Fish: The Three-Spot Dascyllus, Dascyllus trimaculatus, Species Complex". Evolution. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00917.x.
7. Fautin, Daphne Gail; Allen, Gerald R. (1992). Field guide to anemonefishes and their host sea anemones. Perth, WA: Western Australian Museum. ISBN   978-0-7309-5216-9.
8. Stevenson, Robert A. (1963-12-31). "Behavior of the Pomacentrid Reef Fish Dascyllus albisella Gill in Relation to the Anemone Marcanthia cookei" . Copeia. 1963 (4): 612–614. doi:10.2307/1440960. JSTOR   1440960.
9. Borsa, P.; Sembiring, A.; Fauvelot, C.; Chen, W.-J. (2014). "Resurrection of Indian Ocean humbug damselfish, Dascyllus abudafur (Forsskål) from synonymy with its Pacific Ocean sibling, Dascyllus aruanus (L.)" (PDF). Comptes Rendus Biologies. 337 (12): 709–716. doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2014.09.001. PMID   25433563.
10. Randall, John E.; Randall, Helen A. (2001). "Dascyllus auripinnis, a New Pomacentrid Fish from Atolls of the Central Pacific Ocean" (PDF). Zoological Studies. 40 (1): 61–67. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
11. Klausewitz, W. (1960). "Dascyllus strasburgi, ein neuer Fisch aus dem Pazific (Pisces, Perciformes, Pomacentridae)". Journal of Aquatic Biology. 2 (15): 45–49.
12. Kirkeby, C. What Kind of Creature Is It? Finding Nemo - Cast of Characters. Archived 2008-12-17 at the Wayback Machine ClassBrain.com May 22, 2004.