I saw quite a few of these at one site in Cebu. Nothing in the recognized books seems to help. The nearest I can find is the Tonga damsel, Pomacentrus spilotoceps, in Reef Fish of the Tropical Pacific but like Fishbase, it says it is found in Tonga only.
The ear spot and the spot at the base of the pectoral are distictive and I found two good matches via a Google search and both say it is found in the Philippines. Also other references to it (but no photos) in Fiji. I'm wary of just accepting all this and wonder if anybody can help please?
Hi Jim,
It is Pomacentrus amboinensis (Ambon damselfish). I saw a lot of them in Anilao last summer. In my case the earspot was either faint or absent but this is known to be variable. Juveniles have an ocellated spot near the end of the dorsal fin, which remains present in adults in the Andaman region. If you have Reef Fishes of the East Indies there are good images on page 612. There are less pretty but useful images on fishbase, including examples with no, faint, or dark earspot. You image is by far the most spectacular I have seen though!
Bart
Great stuff Bart - you got it in one. I sweated blood on this! It is superb that we can help each other with these species that vary so much with region, mood, age, sex etc. Thanks also for the compliment.
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