Whitebar Gregory, Stegastes albifasciatus (Schlegel & Müller 1839)

Other Names: White-banded Gregory

Summary:

A dark brown to blackish damselfish with a blue line beneath the eye, blue spots on side of head and a blue streak on each body scale. The species has dark brown to blackish fins except the translucent pectoral fins, a pupil-sized black spot at the base of uppermost pectoral-fin rays, and a black spot (sometimes bordered by white anteriorly) at the rear of the dorsal-fin base that extends slightly onto the upper part of the caudal peduncle. Individuals may have a white bar across the rear half of the body.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2026, Stegastes albifasciatus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 03 Oct 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/380

Whitebar Gregory, Stegastes albifasciatus (Schlegel & Müller 1839)

More Info

Depth	in surge zone
Distribution	Scott Reef, Western Australia, and Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland and reefs in the Coral Sea. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the Indo-west Pacific from East Africa and islands of the western Indian Ocean to the Line and Tuamotu islands, north to southern Japan, south to Australia, New Caledonia and Tonga. Inhabits rubble and boulder areas exposed to wave action, often in the surge zone
Features	Dorsal fin XII, 15-16; Anal fin II, 12-14. Body depth 1.8-2.1 in SL. Inner base of pectoral fins scaly.
Feeding	A territorial herbivore; feeds on filamentous algae, occasionally consuming small crustaceans and fish eggs.
Biology	Males guard and aerate the developing eggs.
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin albus (= white) and fasciatus (= banded).
Species Citation	Pomacentrus albifasciatus Schlegel & Müller 1839, Verhandelingen over de Natuurlijke Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Overzeesche Bezittingen. Leiden. Zoologie 2: 21. Type locality: Celebes (=Sulawesi, Indonesia).
Author	Bray, D.J. 2026
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Whitebar Gregory, Stegastes albifasciatus (Schlegel & Müller 1839)

References

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

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. 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., Arceo, H., Mutia, M.T.M., Muyot, F.B., Nañola, C.L. & Santos, M. 2022. Stegastes albifasciatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T188399A1868991. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T188399A1868991.en. Accessed on 01 October 2026.

Allen, G.R. & Emery, A.R. 1985. A review of the pomacentrid fishes of the genus Stegastes from the Indo-west Pacific with descriptions of two new species. Indo-Pacific Fishes 3: 1-31 figs 1-5 pls 1-3

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. & 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

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

Jordan, D.S. & Seale, A. 1906. The fishes of Samoa. Description of the species found in the Archipelago, with a provisional checklist of the fishes of Oceania. Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries (U.S.) for 1905 25: 173-455 figs 1-111 pls 33-53 (described as Pomaentrus ellipticus, type locality Samoa)

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.

Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. & Leyland, G.G. 1984. Continental Shelf Fishes of Northern and North-Western Australia. Canberra : Fisheries Information Service 375 pp. figs & pls.

Schlegel, H. & Müller, S. 1839. Overzight den iut de Sunda en Moluksche zeën bekende visschen, van de geslachten Amphiprion, Premnas, Pomacentrus, Glyphisodon, Dascyllus, en Heliases. Verhandelingen over de Natuurlijke Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Overzeesche Bezittingen. Leiden. Zoologie 2: 17-26, pls 4-6