Common Name: Ambon Damsel

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Western Pacific region: from Indonesia to Vanuatu, north to Ryuku Islands south to New Caledonia and Scott Reef in the eastern Indian Ocean. Recently recorded from Tonga. In Australia recorded from Dampier Archipelago and offshore islands and reefs to the north in Western Australia, the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef in Queensland south to the New South Wales border.

Ecological Notes: Frequents sheltered reef and lagoons, outer reef slopes and passages, usually in small groups. Inhabit sandy areas around coral or rock outcrops, or other protective shelter. Depth from 2 – 40 m.

Additional Notes: Yellow body and tail which is pale and semi-transparent, fins tinged with blue or purple, dark spot on pectoral fin base and blue “ear” spot. Similar P. bankanensis has a white band on the tail fin, P. vaiuli has distinctly marked body scales and P. moluccensis has more opaque yellow on tail and fins. Feeds primarily on algae, also zooplankton from the water column. Distinct pairing during breeding, eggs attached to substrate where they are aerated and guarded by the male. Grows to 9 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.271.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Pomacentrus+amboinensis. Accessed 02/07/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Pomacentrus-amboinensis.html. Accessed 02/07/18.