Scissortail Sergeant, Abudefduf sexfasciatus (Lacépède 1801)

Other Names: Scissor-tail Sergeant, Six-banded Sergeant-major, Stripe-tailed Damsel-fish

A Scissortail Sergeant, Abudefduf sexfasciatus, at Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. Source: Graham Edgar / Reef Life Survey. License: CC by Attribution

Summary:

A whitish damselfish with five relatively narrow dark bars on the head and body, and a broad dark streak along each caudal-fin lobe.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2018, Abudefduf sexfasciatus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 23 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/308

Scissortail Sergeant, Abudefduf sexfasciatus (Lacépède 1801)

More Info

Distribution	Rottnest Island, Western Australia northwards including Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, to Merimbula, New South Wales; also Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific. Inhabits coral-rich areas, aggregating in loose schools to feed on planktonic crustaceans and drifting algae.
Features	Dorsal fin XIII, 12-16; Anal fin II, 12-14; Pectoral fin 16-20; Gill rakers 22-26; Lateral-line scales 19-23. Body depth 1.6-2.0 in SL; soft dorsal and anal fins with pointed rear profiles.
Feeding	Aggregations feed on on zooplankton and algae high in the water column.
Biology	Spawning occurs during summer months and males maintain a nest site in which multiple females may deposit their eggs.
Similar Species	Differs from the closely related A. bengalensis by having black streaks on the caudal fin lobes, and from A. vaigiensis in lacking yellow colour on the upper sides.
Species Citation	Labrus sexfasciatus Lacépède, 1801, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 3 : 430, 477, pl. 19(2). Type locality: Le grande golfe de l'Inde (Indian Ocean), and Malabaar, India.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2018

Scissortail Sergeant, Abudefduf sexfasciatus (Lacépède 1801)

References

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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., Bauchot, M.-L. & Desoutter, M. 1978. The status of Abudefduf sexfasciatus (Lacépède), a pomacentrid fish from the Indo-West Pacific. Copeia 78(2): 328-330 figs 1-2

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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.

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Manica, A. (2003) The effect of brood size and age on partial filial cannibalism in the scissortail sergeant. Journal of Fish Biology 63: 37-47.

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.