Pale-tail Puller, Chromis xanthura (Bleeker 1854)


Other Names: Long-tail Puller, Paletail Chromis, Pale-tail Chromis

A Pale-tail Puller, Chromis xanthura, on the Great Barrier Reef off Cairns, Queensland. Source: Andrew J. Green / Reef Life Survey. License: CC by Attribution

Summary:
A bluish-grey chromis with dark scale edges, usually a white tail, and a blackish bar at the preoperculum and another at the rear of the head. Juveniles have yellow on the outer caudal-fin lobes and yellow on the prolonged soft dorsal and anal fin rays. Some individuals have a black caudal fin. 

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2022, Chromis xanthura in Fishes of Australia, accessed 19 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/331

Pale-tail Puller, Chromis xanthura (Bleeker 1854)

More Info


Distribution

Offshore reefs of north Western Australia, Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and the far northern Great Barrier Reef and reefs in the Coral Sea, to the Capricorn-Bunker Group in the south, Queensland; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe Province in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific.

Features

Dorsal fin XIII, 10-11; Anal fin II, 9-10; Pectoral fin 18-20; Lateral line scales 16-19; Gill rakers (first arch) 26-30.
Body depth 2.1-2.3 in SL.

Similar Species

The similar Doublebar Chromis, Chromis opercularis differs in having a well-defined broad dark bar on the rear of the gill cover that extends onto the pectoral-fin base (vs. a narrower and less-defined blackish bar). Adult C. opercularis also have a dusky-grey to brownish tail, often with a yellowish caudal peduncle, while adult C. xanthura usually have a white tail and caudal peduncle (occasionally a dark tail). 
Both species occur at Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. Juveniles of both species are very similar and difficult to tell apart.

Etymology

The specific name xanthura is from the Greek xanthos (= yellow) and oura (= tail) in reference to the yellow colour on the caudal-fin lobes of juveniles.

Species Citation

Heliases xanthurus Bleeker 1854, Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 6: 107. Type locality: Banda Neira, Banda Islands, Molucca Islands, Indonesia.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2022

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Pale-tail Puller, Chromis xanthura (Bleeker 1854)

References


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

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. 2018. Chromis torquata, a new species of damselfish (Pomacentridae) from Mauritius and Réunion. aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology 24(1): 15-22. See ref online

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. 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.

Bleeker, P. 1854. Derde bijdrage tot de kennis der ichthyologische fauna van de Banda-eilanden (1). Natuurwetenschappelijk Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 6: 89-114. See ref at BHL

Bleeker, P. 1877. Mémoire sur les Chromides marins ou Pomacentroïdes de l'Inde archipélagique. Natuurkundige Verhandelingen van de Bataafsche Hollandsche Maatschappye der Wetenschappen te Haarlem 3 2(6): 1-166

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.

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.

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.

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.

Motomura, H., Nishiyama, H. & Chiba, S.N. 2017. Review of the Chromis xanthura species group (Perciformes: Pomacentridae), with description of a new species. Ichthyological Research 65: 177-191 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-017-0601-8

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.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37372057

Depth:3-40 m

Fishing:Aquarium fish

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:17 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map