Deep-reef Puller, Chromis delta Randall 1988


Other Names: Deep Reef Chromis, Deep-reef Chromis

A Deep-reef Puller, Chromis delta, in northern Fiji, Noember 2016. Source: Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:
A small brownish to dark grey puller with a white caudal peduncle, often preceded by a dark bar that extends onto the dorsal and anal fins (bar sometimes diffuse), a black pectoral-fin axil, a narrow blue margin on the dorsal and anal fins, a blue leading edge on the pelvic fins, a blue iris and a narrow blue semi-circle beneath the eye.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2020, Chromis delta in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2313

Deep-reef Puller, Chromis delta Randall 1988

More Info


Distribution

Northern Great Barrier Reef, Queenslandand reefs in the northern Coral Sea; also Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical east-Indo-west Pacific: Andaman Islands, east to Palau and Fiji, north to Taiwan, south to Queensland (Australia).
Inhabits steep outer reef slopes with good coral cover at depths to about 80 m, rarely above 20 m. Individuals or small groups shelter near the entrance or ceilings of large caves, and along the walls of drop-offs.

Features

Dorsal fin XII, 12-14; Anal fin II, 12-13; Pectoral fin 16-18; Lateral-line scales 13-15; Gill rakers 24-28.
Body depth 1.8-2.1 in SL.

Etymology

The species is named delta from the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet in order to be linked with the previous designation of this fish, Chromis sp. "D" by Allen (1975).

Species Citation

Chromis delta Randall 1988, Mem. Mus. Vic. 49(1): 78, fig. 3. Type locality: Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal, 7 miles west of Honiara, reef adjacent to wreck of Japanese ship, 38 48 m.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2020

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Deep-reef Puller, Chromis delta Randall 1988

References


Allen, G.R. 1975. Damselfishes of the South Seas. New Jersey : T.F.H. Publications 237 pp. 251 figs. (as Chromis sp. "D")

Allen, G.R. 1991. Damselfishes of the World. Melle, Germany : Mergus Verlag 271 pp. 

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. & Steene, R.C. 1979. The fishes of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, Special Publication 2, 81 pp. (in part as Chromis sp. 2)

Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 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 

Jenkins, A., Carpenter, K.E. & Yeeting, B. 2017. Chromis delta. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T188511A1885913. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T188511A1885913.en. Downloaded on 17 September 2020.

Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls. 

Kuiter, R.H. & Tonozuka, T. 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 2. Fusiliers - Dragonets, Caesionidae - Callionymidae. Australia : Zoonetics pp. 304-622.

Randall, J.E. 1988. Three new Indo-Pacific damselfishes of the genus Chromis (Pomacentridae). Memoirs of Museum Victoria 49(1): 73-81 https://doi.org/10.24199/j.mmv.1988.49.05, also see ref also at BHL

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:37372040

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:10-80 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:7 cm TL

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CAAB distribution map