Abudefduf taurus
Night Sergeant
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Pomacentridae (Damselfishes)
Abudefduf
Abudefduf taurus (Night Sergeant)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (Carpenter, K.E. (ed.) 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
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Synonymy
Nexilarius taurus (Müller and Troschel, 1848) / None.
Characters
Body deep, somewhat later ally compressed but robust. Mouth sm all to me-
dium-sized, moderately protrusible; teeth in a single row, incisi form, each with a conspicuous notch on up-
per edge in large individuals; preorbital bone moderately exp anded, without a notch above upper lip;
suborbitals smooth and attached to cheek; preopercle with a smooth edge. Dorsal fin with 12 spines
and 11 or 12, usu ally 12, soft rays; anal fin with 2 spines and 9 or 10 soft rays; caudal fin bluntly forked. Col-
our: back and sides pale or yellowish brown; 5 wide dark brown bars ending bluntly on the upper belly;
interspaces narrower than bars, and a sixth diffuse bar sometimes present on upper half of caudal
peduncle; a very large and prominent spot in axil of pectoral fins.
Body shape: short and / or deep. Caudal fin lobe rounded (Ref. 7247). A heavy-bodied, compressed species; tawny yellow above, paler below, with 5 or 6 dark bars wider than interspaces between them (Ref. 26938). A sixth faint bar or dark saddle-like mark may be present on upper part of caudal peduncle; a prominent black spot at upper base of pectoral fin (Ref. 13442). Striking features: none.
Distribution
Sou thern Florida, Gulf of Mexico,
and Caribbean Sea, mostly in isl and locations,
but also found near exposed continental shore-
lines.
Habitat Associations
Norm ally a very sh allow-water species, characteristic ally found in very turbu-
lent, wave-swept areas in less than 5 m depth (usu ally less than 2 m) occasion ally in water of somewhat re-
duced salinity. The adults and juveniles do not
form schools, but feed as individuals on a herbiv-
orous diet of algae and eel grasses. Adults also
feed on Zoanthus and hydroids while juveniles
feed on copepods. Separate statistics
are not reported for this species.
Biology
To 25 cm total length.
Adults inhabit rocky inshore reefs. They prefer wave-cut rock ledges or limestone shorelines and tide pools in regions with surf. Feed mainly on algae but adults also consume Zoanthus and hydroids while juveniles also feed on copepods (Ref. 9626). 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). Marketed fresh (Ref. 3139).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; guarders (nesters); parental care: paternal. 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).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2010-11-15. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Caught mainly in subsistence
fisheries throughout the area mostly in cast-nets,
but occasion ally by h andlines or beach seines. Marketed or consumed fresh.
References
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Allen, G.R. (1991) Damselfishes of the world. Mergus Publishers, Melle, Germany. 271 p.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
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