You can sponsor this page

Dascyllus melanurus Bleeker, 1854

Blacktail humbug
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Dascyllus melanurus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Videos | Google image
Image of Dascyllus melanurus (Blacktail humbug)
Dascyllus melanurus
Picture by Bos, A.R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Ovalentaria/misc (Various families in series Ovalentaria) > Pomacentridae (Damselfishes) > Chrominae
Etymology: Dascyllus: Greek, daskillys, -on = a kind of fish (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bleeker.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 1 - 68 m (Ref. 37816). Tropical; 35°N - 25°S, 104°E - 173°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Pacific: Sumatra to Vanuatu, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to New Caledonia. Recently recorded from Tonga (Ref. 53797).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 8.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12 - 13; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 12 - 13. Color in life white with 3 black bars; has a black area over the outer two-thirds of the tail, which distinguishes it from D. aruanus; pelvic fins black; pectoral fins transparent. Tubed lateral lines scales 16 to 17. Margins of preorbital, suborbital, and preoperculum finely serrated (Ref. 2746). Body depth 1.5-1.7 in SL (Ref. 90102).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Schooling species, adults inhabit sheltered lagoons, harbors and inlets. Also in somewhat open substrates with outcrops of Acropora corals (Ref. 48636). Often associated with small coral heads. Feed on a variety of plankton, including larval shrimps and crabs, algae, ostracods, amphipods, pelagic tunicates, copepods, and fish eggs. 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). Diurnal species (Ref. 54980; 113699).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

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).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Allen, Gerald R. | Collaborators

Allen, G.R., 1991. Damselfishes of the world. Mergus Publishers, Melle, Germany. 271 p. (Ref. 7247)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 23 September 2021

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
References
References

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.9 - 29, mean 27.8 °C (based on 648 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5005   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02089 (0.00944 - 0.04623), b=2.98 (2.80 - 3.16), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.0   ±0.36 se; based on food items.
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).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 132 [64, 202] mg/100g; Iron = 0.829 [0.495, 1.391] mg/100g; Protein = 18.2 [17.0, 19.4] %; Omega3 = 0.136 [0.079, 0.226] g/100g; Selenium = 28.6 [15.1, 53.5] μg/100g; VitaminA = 95.6 [26.6, 325.7] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.82 [1.23, 2.62] mg/100g (wet weight);