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Scissortail Sergeant
Abudefduf sexfasciatus
The scissortail sergeant or striptailed damselfish (Abudefduf sexfasciatus) is a large damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. It earns its name from the black-striped tail and sides, which are reminiscent of the insignia of a military Sergeant, being similar to those of the sergeant major damselfish. It grows to a length of about 16 centimetres (6.3 in). Scissortail sergeants live on coral reefs at depths of up to 15 metres (50 ft) in tropical reaches, often living in a group surrounding a single head of coral. They are found on reefs in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Red Sea.
The fish feed upon the larvae of invertebrates, zooplankton, smaller fishes, crustaceans, and various species of algae. They are preyed upon by some members of the Labridae and Serranidae families. They lay their eggs in patches on a firm substrate and guard them vigorously till they hatch.
From the article Scissortail sergeant on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
This fish is white. They have 5 vertical bands that are black. Two horizontal bands are present on the lobes of their tail. This fish can grow up to 22 centimetres (8.7 in) at maximum length.
Range & habitat
Scissortail sergeants are found in the Indo-Pacific including the Red Sea. Areas scissortail sergeants can be found in around the Indian Ocean include the Red Sea, eastern Africa, Madagascar, Seychelles, the Persian Gulf, India, Sri Lanka, the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea, Indonesia, and Australia. Pacific Ocean populations are found in the Great Barrier Reef around Australia, the Gulf of Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, and various Pacific islands all the way to Hawaii. A single record was reported recently (2017) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea near Athens, Greece, likely a result of aquarium release. Adults live in coral reefs while younger individuals live in the open sea. They are found at depths of 1 to 20 metres (3.3 to 65.6 ft).
Wikipedia: “Distribution and habitat”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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Every page naming Abudefduf sexfasciatus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 49401.