Dusky Puller, Chromis caudalis Randall 1988


Other Names: Blue-axil Chromis, Blue-spot Puller, Dusky Chromis

A Dusky Puller, Chromis caudalis, at Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean, March 2017. Source: cocos_karen / iNaturalist.org. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:
A brownish to dark greyish-brown puller with an abruptly white caudal peduncle and tail, rear of the dorsal and anal fins whitish to transparent, a blue pectoral-fin axil, a blue leading edge on the pelvic fins, a narrow blue margin on the dorsal and anal fins, a blue rim around the eye, and very long filaments on the caudal-fin lobes.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2020, Chromis caudalis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 28 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2312

Dusky Puller, Chromis caudalis Randall 1988

More Info


Distribution

Bonaparte Achipelago, north Western Australia, and Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. Elsewhere the species is widespread and locally abundant throughout its range in the tropical, east-Indo-west-central Pacific.
Small groups feed on zooplankton around ledges and the bases of small caves on steep outer reef slopes at depths to about 55 m.

Features

Dorsal fin XII, 12-14; Anal fin II, 12-13; Pectoral fin 16-18; Spiniform caudal-fin rays 2; Tubed lateral-line scales 13-15; Gill rakers 7-9 + 19-22. 
Body depth 1.65-1.85 in SL; Head length 3.0-3.25 in SL; Snout length 3.55-3.75 in head; Orbit diameter 2.6-3.2 in head; Interorbital width 2.5-2.85 in head; caudal peduncle depth 1.8-2.0 in head.

Etymology

This specific name is from the Latin caudalis (= having a tail) in "reference to the very long caudal filaments; it has the highest caudal concavity of an) species of Chromis (to 1.6 in the SL)".

Species Citation

Chromis caudalis Randall 1988, Memoirs of Museum Victoria 49(1): 76, fig. 2. Type locality: Alite Reef (off Malaita), Solomon Islands, outer reef slope, 46 m. 

Author

Bray, D.J. 2020

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Dusky Puller, Chromis caudalis Randall 1988

References


Allen, G.R. 1991. Damselfishes of the World. Melle, Germany : Mergus Verlag 271 pp. 

Allen, G.R. 1975. Damselfishes of the South Seas. New Jersey : T.F.H. Publications 237 pp. 251 figs.

Allen, G.R. 1996. New records of reef and shore fishes from northwestern Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 18: 109-112 See ref online

Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls. 

Allen, G. R. 2001. Family Pomacentridae. pp. in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218. 

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21 

Allen, G.R. & Steene, R.C. 1979. The Fishes of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Aust. Natl. Parks Wldlf. Ser. Spec. Publ. 2. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service 81 pp. 15 pls.

Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp. 

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S.J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Checklist and new records of Christmas Island fishes: the influence of isolation, biogeography and habitat availability on species abundance and community composition. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 184–202 https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/rbz/supplement-no-30/

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S .J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Fishes of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands: new records, community composition and biogeographic significance. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 203–219 https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/rbz/supplement-no-30/

Hutchins, J.B. 2001. Biodiversity of shallow reef fish assemblages in Western Australia using a rapid censusing technique. Records of the Western Australian Museum 20: 247-270 

Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls. 

Randall, J.E. 1988. Three new Indo-Pacific damselfishes of the genus Chromis (Pomacentridae). Memoirs of Museum Victoria 49(1): 73-81 https://doi.org/10.24199/j.mmv.1988.49.05

Rocha, L.A. & Myers, R. 2017. Chromis caudalis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T188366A1864736. Downloaded on 13 September 2020.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37372142

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:15-55 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:7.5 cm SL (11.5 cm TL)

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CAAB distribution map