Stegastes variabilis, Cocoa damselfish : aquarium

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Stegastes variabilis (Castelnau, 1855)

Cocoa damselfish
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Stegastes variabilis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Stegastes variabilis (Cocoa damselfish)
Stegastes variabilis
Picture by Luiz, Jr., O.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Ovalentaria/misc (Various families in series Ovalentaria) > Pomacentridae (Damselfishes) > Microspathodontinae
Etymology: Stegastes: Greek, stegastos, -e, -on = covered (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Castelnau.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 0 - 30 m (Ref. 7247). Tropical; 6°S - 30°S, 50°W - 31°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: Brazil. Caribbean (described from Cuban specimens) species refers to Stegastes xanthurus (formerly considered as a junior synonym of S. variabilis). Populations from Brazil and the Caribbean are genetically very distinct (Roberstson & van Tassell, 2012; accessed 08 August 2016; http://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/3884).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 12.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9626)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14-17; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 12 - 15. Caudal fin slightly forked, with rounded lobes. Dark brown or blue above, shading to yellow below. Narrow, dark, obliquely vertical lines on side. Snout and forehead have bright blue lines. Small dark spot in pectoral axil, another on top of caudal peduncle (Ref. 26938).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults inhabit inshore and offshore coral reefs. They feed mainly on benthic algae but also on sponges, ascidians and anemones while juveniles feed on invertebrates like harpacticoid copepods and nemerteans (Ref. 9626). Often solitary (Ref. 9626). Juveniles are aggressively territorial (Ref. 9626). Aggressive when breeding (Ref. 9710). Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). Eggs are demersal and adhere to the substrate (Ref. 205). Males guard and aerate the eggs (Ref. 205). Taken incidentally in traps and small-meshed beach nets (Ref. 5217).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). Eggs are demersal and adhere to the substrate (Ref. 205). Males guard and aerate the eggs (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Allen, Gerald R. | Collaborators

Allen, G.R., 1991. Damselfishes of the world. Mergus Publishers, Melle, Germany. 271 p. (Ref. 7247)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 04 October 2021

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | GoMexSI (interaction data) | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 22.5 - 27.5, mean 25.9 °C (based on 139 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01622 (0.00923 - 0.02851), b=2.99 (2.84 - 3.14), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 103 [52, 161] mg/100g; Iron = 0.741 [0.459, 1.216] mg/100g; Protein = 18.1 [17.0, 19.3] %; Omega3 = 0.11 [0.07, 0.18] g/100g; Selenium = 25.1 [13.9, 46.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 81.5 [21.8, 278.2] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.75 [1.19, 2.54] mg/100g (wet weight);