Stegastes fuscus (Cuvier, 1830)

Adult Body Coloration

Adult dusky damselfish (Stegastes fuscus) have body color ranging from brownish-olive to dark grey, marked with fine, darker vertical stripes along their bodies.

Fin Coloration

They have large fins, and the edges of the dorsal and anal fins sometimes have a blue rim.

Fin Ray Count

The dorsal fin contains 12 spines and 15 to 16 soft rays, while the anal fin contains 2 spines and 13 to 14 soft rays.

Species Distinction

This species can be told apart from the closely similar longfin damselfish (Stegastes diencaeus) by its shorter, less angular dorsal and anal fins.

Size

The maximum recorded total length of this species is 15 cm (5.9 in), and 10 cm (3.9 in) is a more common typical length.

Juvenile Body Coloration

Juvenile dusky damselfish are pearly grey with blue spots on the top of the head.

Juvenile Eyespots

They have a large black eyespot rimmed with blue at the junction of the dorsal fin spines and soft rays, plus a smaller, identically colored eyespot on the caudal peduncle.

Regional Juvenile Color Variation

Some juveniles found off the coast of southeastern Brazil have a vivid yellow and orange band running along their back and dorsal fin.

Confirmed Habitat and Distribution

Stegastes fuscus is known to occur in shallow waters off Brazil, where it is common on both rocky reefs and coral reefs down to depths of 40 m (130 ft).

Unconfirmed Caribbean Records

It has also been reported from the Caribbean Sea, but these records may actually be misidentifications of the separate species Pomacentrus dorsopunicans.

Additional Unconfirmed Population

An unconfirmed additional population has been reported from Senegal.