Dascyllus marginatus | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Family: | Pomacentridae |
Genus: | Dascyllus |
Species: | D. marginatus
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Binomial name | |
Dascyllus marginatus (Rüppell, 1829)
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Dascyllus marginatus (marginate dascyllus or Red Sea dascyllus) is a damselfish endemic to the Western Indian Ocean.[1] It is a site attached fish that lives in corals, usually Stylophora pistillata and species of Acropora. In these corals it hides at a moment of danger[2] and sleeps at night.[3] It feeds on zooplankton that drifts with the current,[4] and grows to a size of 6 cm in length.[1] Dascyllus marginatus lives in groups of 2-25 individuals,[5] and while foraging for food around their home coral, group members keep separated and stable foraging spaces.[6]
It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.[1]