Pomacentridae

Bengal sergeant

Abudefduf bengalensis

Six to seven narrow dark bars across the body

• Tropical
• Regional distribution
• Marine fish
• Indian Ocean
• Pacific Ocean
• East Asia
• Oceania
• Deep-bodied
• Medium
• Tropical fish

Bearing seven bold vertical stripes that distinguish it from the common sergeant major, the Bengal sergeant is a resilient, pugnacious damselfish inhabiting shallow inshore reefs across the tropical Indo-West Pacific. Its deep, compressed oval body displays a silvery-grey or pale olive-yellow background, crossed by seven prominent, relatively narrow dark vertical bars that extend from the dorsal margin down across the flanks. A dark spot marks the upper axil of the pectoral fin, and its caudal fin is moderately forked with rounded lobes. Ranging from eastern India and the Andaman Sea through Southeast Asia and the Great Barrier Reef to Taiwan and southern Japan, it thrives along inshore rocky coastlines, shallow reef flats, wharf pilings, and mangrove fringes from one to six meters depth. A diurnal omnivore, it grazes on benthic filamentous algae, small gastropods, and copepods. Highly territorial during breeding seasons, males clear flat rock surfaces, turn darker, and aggressively defend adhesive egg clusters. Maximum recorded total length reaches seventeen centimetres.

Sources: Australian Museum — Bengal Sergeant, Abudefduf bengalensis