'Pomacentridae' is a family of
perciform fish, comprising the
damselfishes and
clownfishes. They are exclusively
marine (rarely
brackish), and noted for their hardy constitutions and
territoriality. Many are brightly coloured, so they are popular in
aquaria.
Around 360
species are classified in this family, in approximately 28
genera. Of these, members of two genera, ''Amphiprion'' and ''Premnas'' are commonly called
clownfish or 'anemonefish', while members of other genera (e.g. ''
Chromis'') are commonly called 'damselfish'.
[1]
Etymology
The name of the family is derived from the greek words
Greek "''poma''" and "''kentron''". ''Poma'' roughly translates to the English "cover", referring to the fishes'
operculum. ''Kentron'' on the other hand is Greek for
sting. These two refer to a particular diagnostic character of the family, specifically the
spine(s) that can be found along the margin of the family members' operculum.
Genera
★ ''
Abudefduf''
★ ''
Acanthochromis''
★ ''
Altrichthys''
★ ''
Amblyglyphidodon''
★ ''
Amblypomacentrus''
★ ''
Amphiprion''
★ ''
Azurina''
★ ''
Cheiloprion''
★ ''
Chromis''
★ ''
Chrysiptera''
★ ''
Dascyllus''
★ ''
Dischistodus''
★ ''
Hemiglyphidodon''
★ ''
Hypsypops''
★ ''
Labrodascyllus''
★ ''
Lepidozygus''
★ ''
Mecaenichthys''
★ ''
Microspathodon''
★ ''
Neoglyphidodon''
★ ''
Neopomacentrus''
★ ''
Nexilosus''
★ ''
Parma''
★ ''
Plectroglyphidodon''
★ ''
Pomacentrus''
★ ''
Pomachromis''
★ ''
Premnas''
★ ''
Pristotis''
★ ''
Stegastes''
★ ''
Teixeirichthys
References
1.
External links