Blackaxil Puller, Chromis atripectoralis Welander & Schultz 1951


Other Names: Blackaxil Chromis, Black-axil Chromis, Black-axil Puller, Blue-green Puller

A Blackaxil Puller, Chromis atripectoralis, in the lagoon at Lord Howe Island, February 2012. Source: Ian Shaw / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:
A pale greenish to bluish-green puller with a black spot in the axil of the pectoral fin 

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2020, Chromis atripectoralis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2310

Blackaxil Puller, Chromis atripectoralis Welander & Schultz 1951

More Info


Distribution

Houtman Abrolhos to Cassini Island, Western Australia, including Rowley Shoals and Scott Reef, Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and North West Islet and Houtman Abrolhos to the Kimberley, and offshore reefs of Western Australia, and Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and the far northern Great Barrier Reef, to the Solitary Islands, and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe Island region in the Tasman Sea. The Blackaxil Puller may also occur in the Arafura Sea, Northern Territory. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, east-Indo-west-central Pacific.
Forms large feeding aggregations above branching corals, mostly Acropora and Pocillopora, in clear lagoons, reef passages, and on seaward reef slopes.

Features

Dorsal fin XII, 9-10; Anal fin II, 9-10; Pectoral fin 18-20; Lateral-line scales 15-16; Gill rakers 28-33.
Body depth 2.0-2.1 in SL.

Similar Species

Differs from the similar Blue-green Puller, Chromis viridis, in having a black patch at the axil of the pectoral-fin base.

Etymology

The specific name atripectoralis is from the Latin ater (= black) and pectoralis (= of the breast) in reference to the black spot in the axil of the pectoral fin.

Species Citation

Chromis atripectoralis Welander & Schultz 1951, Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 41(3): 107, fig. 1. Type locality: Channel reef, Eman Island, Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands. 

Author

Bray, D.J. 2020

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Blackaxil Puller, Chromis atripectoralis Welander & Schultz 1951

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. & 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. 

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.

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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. 

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/

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 

Irisson, J.-O., Paris, C.B., Leis, J.M. & Yerman, M.N. 2015. With a little help from my friends: group orientation by larvae of a coral reef fish. PLoS ONE10(12): e0144060. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144060

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

Leis, J.M., Siebeck, U.E., Hay, A.C., Paris, C..B, Chateau, O. & Wantiez, L. 2015. In situ orientation of fish larvae can vary among regions. Marine Ecology Progress Series 537: 191-203 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11446

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.

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.

Welander, A.D. & Schultz, L.P. 1951. Chromis atripectoralis, a new damselfish from the tropical Pacific, closely related to C. caeruleus, family Pomacentridae. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 41(3): 107-110 See ref at BHL

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37372036

Depth:2-15 m

Fishing:Aquarium fish

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:12 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map