Dusky Dottyback, Pseudochromis fuscus Müller & Troschel 1849

Other Names: Brown Dottyback

A Dusky Dottyback, Pseudochromis fuscus, on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Source: Graham Edgar / Reef Life Survey. License: CC By Attribution

Summary:

A highly variable dottyback ranging in colour from uniformly bright yellow, to pinkish or greyish, reddish-brown to almost black, with blue dots on the scales, and often a yellow dorsal fin.

Video of research on Dusky Dottyback mimicry systems at Lizard Island Research Station, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.
Video of a Dusky Dottyback at Cebu Island in the Philippines.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2018, Pseudochromis fuscus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 19 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/3456

Dusky Dottyback, Pseudochromis fuscus Müller & Troschel 1849

More Info

Distribution	Occurs in Australia from North West Cape and offshore reefs of north Western Australia, and from the Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory, and the Great Barrier Reef to Moreton Bay, Queensland. Elsewhere, the species is widespread in the tropical, east-Indo-west Pacific, from Sir Lanka to Australia. Inhabits reef flats and reef slopes on rocky and coral reefs in depths to 30 m.
Features	Dorsal fin III, 25-29; Anal fin III, 13-15; Pectoral fin 16-20; Lateral line scales (anterior) 17-35; Predorsal scales 20-35.
Feeding	Carnivore - preys on small reef fishes and crustaceans. Cortesi et al. (2015) found that dusky dottybacks aggressively mimic similarly-coloured damselfishes to enable them to prey on juvenile fishes.
Biology	Dottybacks are protogynous hermaphrodites, and form small harems with a dominant male and several females.
Remarks	Researchers working at Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, found that although two colour morphs (yellow and brown) of the Dusky Dottyback co-occur, they usually live in different areas. Yellow individuals live mostly amongst live coral (usually with similar-looking yellow damselfishes of the genus Pomacentrus. Brown individuals, however, mostly occur in coral rubble areas usually with similar-looking brown damselfishes (Cortes et al. 2015)
Etymology	The specific name fuscus is Latin meaning "dark" or "dusky".
Species Citation	Pseudochromis fuscus Müller & Troschel, 1849, Horae Ichthyol.: 23, pl. 4, fig. 2. Type locality: Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2018
Resources	Australian Faunal Directory

Dusky Dottyback, Pseudochromis fuscus Müller & Troschel 1849

References

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