Pomacentridae

Clownfish and damselfish
Temporal range: Early Paleocene–present
Cocoa damselfish, Stegastes variabilis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
(unranked): Ovalentaria
Family: Pomacentridae
Bonaparte, 1832[1]
Type species
Pomacentrus pavo
Bloch, 1787
Genera

See text

Pomacentridae is a family of ray-finned fish, comprising the damselfishes and clownfishes. This family were formerly placed in the order Perciformes but are now regarded as being incertae sedis in the subseries Ovalentaria in the clade Percomorpha.[2] They are primarily marine, while a few species inhabit freshwater and brackish environments (e.g., Neopomacentrus aquadulcis, N. taeniurus, Pomacentrus taeniometopon, Stegastes otophorus).[3] They are noted for their hardy constitutions and territoriality. Many are brightly colored, so they are popular in aquaria.

Around 385 species are classified in this family, in about 31 genera. Of these, members of two genera, Amphiprion and Premnas, are commonly called clownfish or anemonefish, while members of other genera (e.g., Pomacentrus) are commonly called damselfish.[4] The members of this family are classified in four subfamilies: Amphiprioninae, Chrominae, Lepidozyginae, and Pomacentrinae.[5]

The earliest known fossil damselfish is Chaychanus from the Early Paleocene of Chiapas, Mexico.[6]

  1. ^ Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 001–230. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1. PMID 25543675.
  2. ^ J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. p. 752. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
  3. ^ Jenkins, A.P. & G.R. Allen (2002). "Neopomacentrus aquadulcis, a new species of damselfish (Pomacentridae) from eastern Papua New Guinea". Records of the Western Australian Museum. 20: 379–382.
  4. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Family Pomacentridae". FishBase. July 2007 version.
  5. ^ Allen, G.R. (1975). Damselfishes of the South Seas. Neptune City, NJ: T.F.H. Publications. ISBN 978-0-87666-034-8.
  6. ^ Cantalice, Kleyton Magno; Alvarado-Ortega, Jesús; Bellwood, David Roy (2020-03-01). "†Chaychanus gonzalezorum gen. et sp. nov.: A damselfish fossil (Percomorphaceae; Pomacentridae), from the Early Paleocene outcrop of Chiapas, Southeastern Mexico". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 98: 102322. Bibcode:2020JSAES..9802322C. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2019.102322. ISSN 0895-9811.