Stegastes punctatus,Blunt Snout Gregory
Stegastes punctatus was described in 1825 by Quoy and Guimard. They are members of the family Pomacentridae or reef perch and damselfish. This family includes about 28 genera and 360 species. The genus Stegastes includes about 38 species.
Synonyms: Pomacentrus punctatus, Pomacentrus prosopotaenioides, Pomacentrus cyanospilos, Pomacentrus kumkum, Eupomacentrus kumkum, Pomacentrus obscurus.
Description
Stegastes punctatus is an inconspicuous damselfly. They are dark brown in color. Faint blue spots are visible on the scales. Below the dorsal fin against the tail root is a darker spot that sometimes shows a light blue edge. They can reach a total length of about 15 centimeters.
Diet
The diet of Stegastes punctatus consists mainly of algae and plant food. Usually, they pick the algae off dead coral. To protect their coral with algae from intruders, they chase away all herbivorous species. They are also not afraid of divers who attack them without hesitation and can bite them unexpectedly.
Video
Author
John de Lange
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