Thousands of Blacksmith on the Peacock Wreck

The blacksmith (''Chromis punctipinnis''), also known as the blacksmith chromis and blacksmith damselfish, is a fish in the

damselfish Damselfish are those within the subfamilies Abudefdufinae, Chrominae, Lepidozyginae, Pomacentrinae, and Stegastenae within the family Pomacentridae. Most species within this group are relatively small, with the largest species being about 30 ...

family. It is native to the subtropical northeastern Pacific Ocean, where it range is from

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by a ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, USA, to central

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, Mexico. This small fish is associated with rocky reefs and

kelp forest Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Ea ...

Description

The blacksmith can reach in length. It is blue-black in color with small black spots towards the tail. The scales are large. The tail is forked. The juvenile is two-toned with a blue-grey front and a brownish-orange rear.

Ecology

Habitat

The fish lives at depths up to , usually close to the sea floor, over rocks, or on slopes. It also inhabits

Diet

The diet includes marine

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

and

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

Behaviour

The blacksmith rests in rocky crevices during the night. It is known to be

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

, and, although small, it acts aggressively toward other fish. Juveniles are

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...

and form

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

. The blacksmith is

symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

with the

señorita Señorita (the Spanish honorific equivalent of Miss) may refer to: Film * ''Senorita'' (film), a 1927 American silent film *''Señorita'', a 2011 film directed by Isabel Sandoval Music * "Señorita" (Don Williams song), 1987 *'' Señorita EP'' ...

. When it feels that it is starting to deteriorate in hygiene it will turn until it is perpendicular to the ground, allowing the señorita to clean it.

Reproduction

The blacksmith spawns during summer and autumn. The male cleans a nesting site, then herds a female to it. After spawning, the male guards the

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

until they hatch.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2181570 punctipinnis Western North American coastal fauna Fish described in 1863 Taxa named by James Graham Cooper