''Stegastes beebei'' (Galapagos ringtail damselfish or southern whitetail major), is a species of

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 ...

found on coral and rocky reefs at depths between 0 and 15 m. They are somewhat territorial, and chase away small intruders. They are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

, grazing on algae and nibbling at small crustaceans and the tentacles of anemones. They are oviparous, with distinct pairing during breeding. The eggs are demersal and adhere to the substrate. Males guard and aerate the eggs.

Description

From: The body is oval and compressed, with one pair of nostrils. The margin of the preopercle is serrated; the margin of bone under the eyes is serrated, without a notch in it and the bone before it. The mouth is small and protrusible with teeth in a single row, long and close-set. About 11 (10-12) lower gill rakers are present. They have a single continuous

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

, and no projecting short spines at upper and lower base of tail fin. The caudal fin is bluntly forked. The scales are moderately large and rough; the body is scaled, and the head is largely scaled (the snout is scaled to the nostrils), as are the basal parts of the median fins. The lateral line has 20 scales (rarely 19). It is incomplete and ends under the end of the dorsal fin base. They grow up to 17 cm in length. Galapagos ringtail damselfish are dark brown with darker scale outlines, often with a white band on the caudal peduncle. They have blue irises and white or yellow outer edges of the

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

. Juveniles are dark with a red nape, upper back and spiny dorsal fin, and a dark ocellus at the rear base of the

Distribution

They are found in the eastern Pacific off

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

Malpelo Island Malpelo is a small oceanic island in the eastern Pacific Ocean, located about west of the Colombian mainland with a military post manned by the Colombian Armed Forces. It consists of a sheer and barren rock with three high peaks, the highest ...

( Colombia), Cocos Island (Panama), 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 ...

Etymology

The specific name honours the American naturalist and

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

William Beebe Charles William Beebe ( ; July 29, 1877 – June 4, 1962) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, marine biologist, entomologist, explorer, and author. He is remembered for the numerous expeditions he conducted for the New York Zoological ...

(1877-1962) of the

New York Zoological Society New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1995251 beebei Fish described in 1924