Blackspot sergeant

About this species

Abudefduf sordidus, commonly known as the blackspot sergeant or kūpīpī in Hawaii, is a large solitary damselfish in the family Pomacentridae native to the tropical Indo-Pacific.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Abudefduf sordidus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 378 records
February: 302 records
March: 369 records
April: 547 records
May: 722 records
June: 441 records
July: 511 records
August: 443 records
September: 345 records
October: 406 records
November: 387 records
December: 278 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–9 m · Deepest record: 100 m

0–10 m: 527 records
10–20 m: 44 records
20–30 m: 4 records
30–40 m: 2 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–30 °C

20–22 °C: 7 records
22–24 °C: 19 records
24–26 °C: 97 records
26–28 °C: 63 records
28–30 °C: 54 records

Photos

(c) Nick T., some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Susan Prior, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Gergely Nigg, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Rosario Douglas, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) amfstocker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Susan Prior, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Blackspot sergeant, blackspot sergeant, Black-spot Sergeant, blackspot sergeant major, Black-spot Sergeant-major, Gray Damselfish, Sergeants, Spot Damsel, spot pom, Yellow-banded Sergeant-major

Names in 7 more languages

German: Feldwebelfisch
Spanish: Sargento mayor de mancha negra
French: Boeteur Roche, Sergent à tache noire, Sergent-major à tache noire
Japanese: Shimasuzumedai, シマスズメダイ
Korean: 줄자돔
Thai: ปลาสลิดหินจุดดำ
Simplified Chinese: 厚殼仔, 梭地豆娘魚, 梭地雀鯛, 豆娘魚

Other scientific names: Abudefduf tridentatus, Chaetodon sordidus, Glyphidodon adenensis, Glyphidodon leucopleura, Glyphisodon geant, Glyphisodon géant, Glyphisodon gigas, Glyphisodon sordidus

Similar species

Cow pilot
Abudefduf saxatilis
Scissortail sergeant
Abudefduf sexfasciatus
Indo-Pacific sergeant
Abudefduf vaigiensis
Bengal Sergeant
Abudefduf bengalensis
Banded sergeant
Abudefduf septemfasciatus
Banded Damselfish
Abudefduf abdominalis

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
2,512 open-data records from 1775 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.