Indo-Pacific sergeant

Abudefduf vaigiensis

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth2–12 m
Water temperature20–30 °C
Best monthsMarch, April, and October
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by portioid · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The Indo-Pacific sergeant is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. It may also be known as the Sergeant major although this name is usually reserved for the closely related species Abudefduf saxatilis. The closely related Abudefduf caudobimaculatus was formerly considered to be synonymous with this species and, according to some authorities, is synonymous.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Indo-Pacific sergeant”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 686 records
February: 645 records
March: 865 records
April: 1,004 records
May: 812 records
June: 688 records
July: 793 records
August: 776 records
September: 814 records
October: 970 records
November: 663 records
December: 632 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–12 m · Deepest record: 199 m

0–10 m: 963 records
10–20 m: 381 records
20–30 m: 12 records
30–40 m: 2 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 1 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–30 °C

18–20 °C: 5 records
20–22 °C: 9 records
22–24 °C: 11 records
24–26 °C: 72 records
26–28 °C: 32 records
28–30 °C: 97 records

Photos

no rights reserved, uploaded by Andrew Deacon · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Rickard Zerpe, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ian Dugdale, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Wolfgang Ahlmer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) ajott, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Indo-Pacific sergeant, Common Sergeant, Damselfish, Five-banded Damsel-fish, Five-banded Sergeant-major, Indo-Pacific Sergeant Major, Scissortail Seargent, Sergeant-major, Sergeant Major, Sergeants

Names in 7 more languages

German: Indopazifischer Sergeant
Spanish: Sargento mayor del Pacífico
French: Poisson-bagnard, Sergent-major de l'Indo-Pacifique, Sergent-major de Mer Rouge, Sergent-major Indo-Pacifique
Japanese: Oyabitcha, オヤビッチャ
Korean: 해포리고기
Thai: ปลาตะกรับห้าแถบ
Simplified Chinese: 五带豆娘鱼, 五帶豆娘魚, 五線雀鯛, 厚殼仔, 岩雀鯛, 條紋豆娘魚, 美岸豆娘魚

Other scientific names: Abudefduf caudobimaculatus, Abudefduf quinquelineatus, Abudefduf quinquilineatus, Abudefduf vaigensis, Abudefduf vargensis, Abudefdus vaigiensis, Chaetodon tyrwhitti, Glyphisodon quadrifasciatus, Glyphisodon rahti, Glyphisodon vaigiensis

Similar species

Cow pilot
Abudefduf saxatilis
Scissortail sergeant
Abudefduf sexfasciatus
Bengal Sergeant
Abudefduf bengalensis
Banded sergeant
Abudefduf septemfasciatus
Blackspot sergeant
Abudefduf sordidus
Black-tailed Sergeant-major
Abudefduf lorenzi

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).
6,008 open-data records from 1825 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist