Common Name: Speckled Damsel

Distribution: Common in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the tropical West Pacific region: Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, to Fiji, north to Japan, south to Rowley Shoals and Scott Reef in the Indian Ocean, New Caledonia and Tonga in the western Pacific Ocean. In Australia recorded from Shark Bay and the North West Shelf off Western Australia, the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, south to central New South Wales and including Lord Howe Island.

Ecological Notes: Frequents lagoons, reef flats, passages and outer reef slopes, usually amongst corals or rocky rubble. Juveniles found in more protected reefs and bays. Depth range 0 – 30 m.

Additional Notes: White tail base, ocellus on rear dorsal fin, dark earspot and fine black spot at pectoral fin base. Juvenile pictured in top photograph, ocellus reduces in size and blue lines across face fade with age. Adult specimens shown in centre and bottom photograph. Similar P. amboinensis lacks white tail base. Feed primarily on algae, but also copepods, isopods and pelagic tunicates. 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.273.

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

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