The giant damselfish (''Microspathodon dorsalis'') inhabit rocky reefs, below the surf zone at depths of 1–25 m. They feed mainly on low-profile, attached algae. They defend both feeding and reproductive territories by driving off other fishes and divers who come too close. They are

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

, and form distinct pairings during breeding. The eggs are demersal and adhere to the substrate. Males guard and aerate the eggs.

Distribution

Eastern Pacific: central

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja Ca ...

to Malpelo Island (

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

), including the Revillagigedo,

Cocos Island Cocos Island ( es, Isla del Coco) is an island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 13 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Province of Puntarenas ...

and the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

References

External links

* giant damselfish Fish of Mexican Pacific coast Western Central American coastal fauna Galápagos Islands coastal fauna giant damselfish {{Pomacentridae-stub