Princess Damsel, Pomacentrus vaiuli Jordan & Seale 1906
Other Names: Ocellate Damsel, Ocellate Damselfish
A Princess Damsel, Pomacentrus vaiuli, at North Murion Island, Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia. Source: Andrew J. Green / Reef life Survey. License: CC by Attribution
Summary:
A damselfish with a bright deep blue to purplish or golden brown body becoming orange-yellow on the head and above the lateral line, blue lines on the head, a black ocellus on the rear of the dorsal fin, a yellow pectoral fin base, a yellow iris and a blue spot ('ear spot') on the upper part of the gill cover. Juveniles are a bright yellow above becoming deep blue below.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2023, Pomacentrus vaiuli in Fishes of Australia, accessed 24 Mar 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2354
Princess Damsel, Pomacentrus vaiuli Jordan & Seale 1906
More Info
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Distribution |
Ningaloo Reef and offshore reefs of north Western Australia, and Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island in the Timor Sea, to Sydney, New South Wales; also reefs in the Coral Sea, Christmas Island in the Eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe Province. Elsewhere the species occurs in the east-Indo-west-central Pacific: Moluccas, Indonesia, South China Sea to Micronesia and Samoa, south to Australia and New Caledonia, and north to the Philippines and Japan. Individuals or loose groups commonly inhabit mixed coral and rubble areas of lagoon and outer coral reef slopes. |
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Feeding |
Feeds mostly on feeds mainly on filamentous algae and small invertebrates. |
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Similar Species |
The similar Speckled Damsel, Pomacentrus bankanensis, has a white band around the caudal peduncle and caudal-fin base. |
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Etymology |
The specific name vaiuli (= blue water) is the local name for this species at the type locality in Samoa. |
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Species Citation |
Pomacentrus vaiuli Jordan & Seale 1906, Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries (U.S.) for 1905 25: 280, pl. 40 (fig. 2). Type locality: Samoa. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2023 |
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Resources |
Princess Damsel, Pomacentrus vaiuli Jordan & Seale 1906
References
Allen, G.R. 1993. Fishes of Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 44: 67-91
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. 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., Arceo, H., Mutia, M.T.M., Muyot, F.B., Nañola, C.L. & Santos, M. 2022. Pomacentrus vaiuli. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T188503A1884930. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T188503A1884930.en. Accessed on 03 January 2024.
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 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.
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
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. 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. 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)
Jordan, D.S. & Seale, A. 1906. The fishes of Samoa. Description of the species found in the Archipelago, with a provisional checklist of the fishes of Oceania. Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries (U.S.) for 1905 25: 173-455 See ref at BHL
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.
