Black-banded Damsel

Amblypomacentrus breviceps

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Pomacentridae
Genus: Amblypomacentrus
Species: Amblypomacentrus breviceps

The black-banded damsel (Amblypomacentrus breviceps) is a small, silvery-grey damselfish with bold dark bands, typically found on open sand and silt rather than coral reefs. Juveniles often show touches of yellow or blue on the fins.

It grows to about 8 cm. It lives in small groups around isolated shelters on soft bottoms, such as sponges, debris, sea pens or patches of rubble, and feeds on plankton and tiny invertebrates. Males guard eggs laid on hard surfaces.

The black-banded damsel occurs in the western Pacific, including the Philippines, where it is a common fish on sandy muck sites around scattered shelter.

Photo: Ben Costamagna, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist