Abudefduf sexfasciatus (Lacepède, 1801)

Body Coloration

Abudefduf sexfasciatus, commonly called the scissortail sergeant, has a white body marked with five vertical black bands. Two horizontal bands are also present on the lobes of its tail.

Maximum Size

This fish reaches a maximum total length of 22 centimetres (8.7 inches).

Broad Distribution Range

The species is distributed across the Indo-Pacific region, including the Red Sea.

Indian Ocean Distribution

In the Indian Ocean portion of its range, it can be found from the Red Sea and eastern Africa through Madagascar, the Seychelles, the Persian Gulf, India, Sri Lanka, the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea, Indonesia, and Australia.

Pacific Ocean Distribution

In the Pacific Ocean, populations occur from the Great Barrier Reef off Australia, through the Gulf of Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, and across various Pacific islands extending all the way to Hawaii.

Mediterranean Occurrence

A single 2017 record of this species exists from the eastern Mediterranean Sea near Athens, Greece, and this occurrence is thought to be the result of an aquarium release.

Habitat Preferences

Adult scissortail sergeants inhabit coral reefs, while younger individuals live in the open sea.

Depth Range

This species occurs at depths between 1 and 20 metres (3.3 to 65.6 ft).