Whitetail Puller, Chromis margaritifer Fowler 1946


Other Names: Bicolor Chromis, Bicolour Chromis, Black and White Chromis, Chocolate Dip, Half & Half Chromis, Half-and-half Puller, Whitetail Chromis

A Whitetail Puller, Chromis margaritifer, at North Solitary Island, New South Wales, January 2013. Source: Ian Shaw / iNaturalist.org. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:
A mostly dark greyish to black puller becoming abruptly white on the rear of the dorsal and anal fins, caudal peduncle and caudal fin, with often a blue margin on the dorsal fin. The Whitetail Puller also has a black axil spot on the pectoral fin, and filamentous caudal-fin lobes.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2020, Chromis margaritifer in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2320

Whitetail Puller, Chromis margaritifer Fowler 1946

More Info


Distribution

Houtman Abrolhos to the Bonaparte Archipelago and offshore reefs of Western Australia, and Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island in the Timor Sea, and the far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, and reefs in the Coral Sea, to Shellharbour, New South Wales, with juveniles south to Montague Island; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe region in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, east-Indo-west-central Pacific.

Individuals or small groups inhabit coastal and offshore reefs.

Features

Dorsal fin XI, 12-13; Anal fin II, 11-12; Pectoral fin 16-18' Lateral-line scales 16-18; Gill rakers 25-29.
Body depth 1.9-2.0 in SL. 

Etymology

The specific name margaritifer is from the Latin margarita (= pearl) and -fer (= bearing), in reference to the “pearly gray band on the infraorbitals, obscure pearly gray spots on cheeks, breast and lower sides and contrasted black base of the pectoral on its outer face with a pearly gray border”,

Species Citation

Chromis dimidiatus margaritifer Fowler 1946, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 98: 140, figs 9-10. Type locality: Aguni Shima, Ryukyu Islands, Japan.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2020

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Whitetail Puller, Chromis margaritifer Fowler 1946

References


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

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

Allen, G.R. 1993. Fishes of Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 44: 67-91 

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., Hoese, D.F., Paxton, J.R., Randall, J.E., Russell, B.C., Starck, W.A., Talbot, F.H. & Whitley, G.P. 1976. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum 30(15): 365-454 figs 1-2 

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. 1988. Fishes of Christmas Island Indian Ocean. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 197 pp. 

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


Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls. 

Choat, J.H., van Herwerden, L., Robbins, W.D., Hobbs, J.P. & Ayling, A.M. 2006. A report on the ecological surveys undertaken at Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs, February 2006. Report by James Cook University to the Department of the Environment and Heritage. 65 pp. 

Fowler, H.W. 1946. A collection of fishes obtained in the Riu Kiu Islands by Captain Ernest R. Tinkham A.U.S. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 98: 123-218 figs 1-76 

Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2 

Gill, A.C. & Reader, S.E. 1992. Fishes. pp. 90-93, 193-228 in Hutchings, P. (ed.) Reef Biology. A Survey of Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs, South Pacific. Canberra : Australian National Parks Vol. 3, Kowari 230 pp. 

Heyward, A. et al. 2011. Monitoring Study S6B Corals Reefs, Montara: 2011 Shallow Reef Surveys at Ashmore, Cartier and Seringapatam Reefs. Final Report for PTTEP Australasia (Ashmore Cartier) Pty. Ltd. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville. 163 pp. 

Hobbs, J.-P.A. & Allen, G.R. 2014. Hybridisation among coral reef fishes at Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Bulletin of the Raffles Museum Supplement 30: 220-226 

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, B. 2004. Fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 66: 343–398 

Hutchins, J.B. 1994. A survey of the nearshore reef fish fauna of Western Australia's west and south coasts — The Leeuwin Province. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 46: 1-66 figs 1-6 

Hutchins, J.B. 1997. Checklist of fishes of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. pp. 239-253 in Wells, F. (ed.) The Marine Fauna and Flora of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum. 

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 

 Johnson, J.W. 1999. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43(2): 709-762 

Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3) 

Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp. 

Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp. 

Oxley, W.G., Ayling, A.M., Cheal, A.J. & Osborne, K. 2004. Marine surveys undertaken in the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Nature Reserve, December 2003. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Sciences 64 pp. 

Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 pp.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs. 

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs. 

Russell, B.C. 1983. Annotated checklist of the coral reef fishes in the Capricorn-Bunker group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Special Publication Series 1: 1-184 figs 1-2

Thresher, R.E., Colin, P.L. & Bell, L.J. 1989. Planktonic duration, distribution and population structure of western and central Pacific damselfishes (Pomacentridae). Copeia 1989(2): 420-434.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37372047

Depth:2-20 m

Fishing:Aquarium fish

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:9 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map