Spring Chromis, Chromis earina Pyle, Earle & Greene 2008

Summary:

A pale bluish-grey to pale green damselfish with distinct dark caudal-fin lobes, and one or two scale-sized white spots on the upper midside below the lateral line.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Chromis earina in Fishes of Australia, accessed 02 Jul 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/5771

Spring Chromis, Chromis earina Pyle, Earle & Greene 2008

More Info

Distribution	Flinders Reef in the Coral Sea Marine Park, Australia, depth 105 m. Elsewhere the species is known from the Western Pacific: Raja Ampat Islands (West Papua, Indonesia), Papua New Guinea east to Fiji, north to the Philippines, and south to Vanuatu. Inhabits steep outer reef slopes and drop-offs with rocky outcrops and small caves and holes, often in association with limestone talus.
Features
Feeding	Pairs or small groups have often been seen feeding on plankton low in the water column.
Etymology	The specific name is a Latinized form of the Greek adjective earinos (= the colour of spring), in reference to the pale green colour of this species in life.
Species Citation	Chromis earina Pyle, Earle & Greene 2008, Zootaxa No. 1671: 21, Figs.5a-5c. Type locality: Vanuatu, Espiritu Santo, off W coast of Tutuba Island (15°32'39.28"S, 167°16'29.82"E): near large boulder along steep slope with rubble and sand, and many gorgonians, depth 116 m.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Spring Chromis, Chromis earina Pyle, Earle & Greene 2008

References

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

Arango, B.G., Pinheiro, H.T., Rocha, C., Greene, B.D., et al. 2019. Three new species of Chromis (Teleostei, Pomacentridae) from mesophotic coral ecosystems of the Philippines. ZooKeys 835: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.835.27528

Pyle, R. L., Earle, J.L. & Greene, B.D. 2008. Five new species of the damselfish genus Chromis (Perciformes: Labroidei: Pomacentridae) from deep coral reefs in the tropical western Pacific. Zootaxa 1671: 3-31. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1671.1.2

Tea, Y.K., Sih, T.L., Walsh, F. et al. 2025. New records of fishes from the Coral Sea Marine Park, Australia. Coral Reefs https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-025-02664-3