Stegastes punctatus – Blunt Snout Gregory
Stegastes punctatus was first described in 1825 by Quoy and Guimard. They are members of the Pomacentridae family. This family comprises around 28 genera and 360 species. The genus Stegastes comprises around 38 species.
Synonyms: Pomacentrus punctatus, Pomacentrus prosopotaenioides, Pomacentrus cyanospilos, Pomacentrus kumkum, Eupomacentrus kumkum, Pomacentrus obscurus.
Description
Stegastes punctatus is an inconspicuous damselfish. They are dark brown in color. Vague blue spots are visible on the scales. Under the dorsal fin close to the caudal peduncle they have a darker spot that sometimes shows a light blue edge. They can reach a total length of around 15 centimeters.
Diet
The Stegastes punctatus diet consists mainly of algae and plant-based foods. They usually extract the algae from dead coral. To protect their coral with algae from invaders, they expel all herbivorous species. They are also not afraid of divers. They will attack them without hesitation and can bite unexpectedly.
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Author
John de Lange
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