Blue-green Puller, Chromis viridis (Cuvier 1830)


Other Names: Blue Puller, Blue-green Chromis, Green Puller

A Blue-green Puller, Chromis viridis, on Juke Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, October 2005. Source: Erik Schlogl / iNaturalist.org. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:
An iridescent bluish-green damselfish with no black spot at the axil ('arm-pit') of the pectoral fin. Individuals may become intensely yellow to orange while spawning. Blue-green Pullers form large schools above branching Acropora corals.
A spawning aggregation of Blue-green Pullers at Dauin, Central Visayas in the Philippines, July 2020.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2020, Chromis viridis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/329

Blue-green Puller, Chromis viridis (Cuvier 1830)

More Info


Distribution

Houtman Abrolhos to the Kimberley, and offshore reefs, Western Australia, Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island in the Timor Sea, and the far northern
Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, to at least the Solitary Islands, New South Wales; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe Province in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere, the species is widespread in the tropical, Indo-west Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa, east to Oceania (Wake Atoll, Marquesas Islands and Tuamotu Archipelago), north to southern Japan and the Ryukyu Islands, south New Caledonia and Tonga.
Forms large feeding aggregations above branching corals (especially Acropora) in sheltered lagoons and coastal reefs. 

Features

Dorsal fin VII, 9-10;; Anal fin II, 10-11; Pectoral fin 16-18; Lateral-line scalesn15-16; Gill rakers 28-33.
Body depth 2.0-2.1 in SL.

Feeding

Feeds on zooplankton in the water column.

Biology

Females lay demersal adhesive eggs into sandy/rubble nests prepared by males. A group of females lay their eggs into the nest of one male, and he guards and fans the eggs until the larvae hatch.

Similar Species

The similar Blackaxil Puller, Chromis atripectoralis, has a black pectoral-fin axil ('arm-pit').

Etymology

The specific name viridis is from the Latin viride (= green) in reference to the colour of this species, described by Cuvier (translated from French) as a “beautiful aquamarine green, fainter below, more blue on the back and caudal”.

Species Citation

Heliases viridis Cuvier, 1830, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 5: 420. Type locality: Massuah, Red Sea.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2020

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Blue-green Puller, Chromis viridis (Cuvier 1830)

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. 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. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21.

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.

Bay, L.K. 2005. The population genetic structure of coral reef fishes on the Great Barrier Reef, Ph.D. thesis, James Cook University. 

Bay, L.K., K. Buechler, M. Gagliano & M.J. Caley. 2006. Intraspecific variation in the pelagic larval duration of tropical reef fishes. Journal of Fish Biology 68: 1206-1214.

Brandl, S.J. & Bellwood, D.R. 2014. Pair-formation in coral reef fishes: an ecological perspective. in  Hughes, R.N., Hughes, D.J., Smith, I.P. (eds) Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 52: 1-80, CRC Press.

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.

Coker, D.J., Graham, N.A.J. & Pratchett, M.S. 2012. Interactive effects of live coral and structural complexity on the recruitment of reef fishes. Coral Reefs 31: 919-927. 

Cooper, W.J., Smith, L.L. & Westneat, M.W. 2009. Exploring the radiation of a diverse reef fish family: Phylogenetics of the damselfishes (Pomacentridae), with new classifications based on molecular analyses of all genera. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 52: 1-16.

Cuvier, G.L. in Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1830. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 5 499 pp. pls 100-140. See ref at BHL

Feary, D.A., Almany, G.R., McCormick, M.I. & Jones, G.P. 2007. Habitat choice, recruitment and the response of coral reef fishes to coral degradation. Oecologia 153: 727-737. 

Fisher, R. 2005. Swimming speeds of larval coral reef fishes: impacts on self-recruitment and dispersal. Marine Ecology Progress Series 285: 223-232.

Grant, E.M. 1991. Fishes of Australia. Brisbane : EM Grant Pty Ltd 480 pp.

Holmes, T.H. & McCormick, M.I. 2010. Response across a gradient: behavioural reactions of newly settled fish to predation cues. Animal Behaviour doi: 101016janbehav201011019. 

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

Pratchett, M.S., Coker, D.J., Jones, G.P. & Munday, P.L. 2012. Specialization in habitat use by coral reef damselfishes and their susceptibility to habitat loss. Ecology and Evolution 2(9): 2168-2180.

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.

Randall, J.E., Bauchot, M.-L. & Desoutter, M. 1985. Chromis viridis (Cuvier, 1830), the correct name for the Indo-Pacific damselfish previously known as C. caerulea (Cuvier, 1830) (Pisces, Pomacentridae). Cybium 9(4): 411-413

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

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37372053

Depth:1-12 m

Fishing:Aquarium fish

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:10 cm TL

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CAAB distribution map