Richardson's Damsel, Pomachromis richardsoni (Snyder 1909)

Other Names: Black-edged Reef Damsel, Richardson's Reef Damsel, Richardson's Reef-damsel

Richardson's Damsel, Pomachromis richardsoni, at Cakaudrove, Taveuni Island, Fiji, May 2016. Source: Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist.org. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:

A pale brown damselfish becoming pale bluish-grey with blue scale margins on the upper sides, a white ventral surface on the head and body, upper half of caudal peduncle blackish, with the black pigment tapering out along the upper margin of the caudal fin, and less so along the lower margin, and a black spot in pectoral-fin axil. The fins are pale brown to whitish, with darker margins on the soft-rayed dorsal and anal fins, and an intensely white area at the bases of dorsal-fin rays.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Pomachromis richardsoni in Fishes of Australia, accessed 10 Jul 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/377

Richardson's Damsel, Pomachromis richardsoni (Snyder 1909)

More Info

Distribution	Offshore reefs of north Western Australia, Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and the outer Great Barrier Reef NE of Lizard Island, to off Lady Musgrave Island, including reefs in the Coral Sea. Elsewhere the species is widespread with a scattered distribution in the Indo-West Pacific: Madagascar and western Mascarenes (La Réunion, Mauritius) east to Samoa and Tonga, north to Taiwan and southern Japan, south to Australia and the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia. Forms loose groups near the bottom on exposed seaward reefs.
Features	Dorsal fin VIV, 13-14; Anal fin II, 13-14; Pectoral fin 18; Gill rakers 24-25; Lateral-line scales 18-19. Body depth 2.5–2.7 in SL.
Size
Feeding	Feeds on zooplankton in the water column.
Etymology	The species is "Named for Mr. Robert Earl Richardson".
Species Citation	Abudefduf richardsoni Snyder 1909, Proceedings of the United States National Museum 36(1688): 600. Type locality: Naha, Okinawa, Japan.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Richardson's Damsel, Pomachromis richardsoni (Snyder 1909)

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. 2022. Family Pomacentridae, Damselfishes, pp 119-165 in Heemstra, P.C., Heemstra, E., Ebert, D.A., Holleman, W. & Randall, J.E. (eds). Coastal fishes of the western Indian Ocean. Volume 4. Makhanda, South Africa : South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, i, 1-467, i-xi, Pls. 1-168.

Allen, G.R., Arceo, H., Mutia, M.T.M., Muyot, F.B., Nañola, C.L. & Santos, M. 2022. Pomachromis richardsoni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T188346A1861872. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T188346A1861872.en. Accessed on 08 October 2025.

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Randall, J.E. 1974. Five new species and a new genus of damselfishes (family Pomacentridae) from the South Pacific Ocean. Tropical Fish Hobbyist 21(9): 36-49 figs 1-5

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

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. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.

Snyder, J.O. 1909. Descriptions of new genera and species of fishes from Japan and the Riu Kiu Islands. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 36(1688): 597-610. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.1836.525