Teleostei (teleosts) >
Ovalentaria/misc (Various families in series Ovalentaria) >
Pseudochromidae (Dottybacks) > Pseudochrominae
Etymology: Pseudochromis: Greek, pseudes = false + Greek, chromis = a fish, perhaps a perch (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: John Percy Moore (1869–1965) was an American zoologist who specialised in leeches. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Fowler.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 12 - 25 m (Ref. 90102). Tropical
Western Central Pacific: Philippines and Palau south to Australia.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 12.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 48635)
Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 25 - 26; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 13 - 14. The Bali and Lombok population was recently described as a separate species as P. steenei on the bases of color differences. The white bar behind the eye, used to distinguish the species, fades in the Philippine and northern Australian populations, while in Sulawesi, it shows clearly. The ones with the orange head are thought to be male.
A very aggressive species that readily attacks the camera when it sees its own reflection. Mainly found on deep coastal slopes with remote sponges and crinoids in about 30 m depth and often occurs in pairs (Ref. 48635).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Gill, A.C., 1999. Pseudochromidae. Dottybacks (eelblennies). p. 2557-2577. In Carpenter, K. E. and V. E. Niem. 1999. Species identification guide for fisheries purposes. The living marine resources of the western central Pacific. Bony fishes part 2 (Mugilidae to Carangidae). FAO, Rome. : iii-v; 2069-2790. (Ref. 37748)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 27.5 - 29.4, mean 28.8 °C (based on 1019 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00501 (0.00193 - 0.01299), b=3.10 (2.88 - 3.32), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.7 ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).