Spiny chromis

Acanthochromis polyacanthus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth4–14 m
Water temperature24–30 °C
Best monthsOctober
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Nikita, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The spiny chromis is a species of damselfish from the western Pacific. It is the only member of the genus Acanthochromis.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Spiny chromis”, 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: 81 records
February: 63 records
March: 98 records
April: 115 records
May: 138 records
June: 306 records
July: 119 records
August: 123 records
September: 196 records
October: 646 records
November: 178 records
December: 124 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–14 m · Deepest record: 287 m

0–10 m: 183 records
10–20 m: 534 records
20–30 m: 17 records
30–40 m: 6 records
40–50 m: 0 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: 0 records
110+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 24–30 °C

24–26 °C: 24 records
26–28 °C: 30 records
28–30 °C: 139 records

Photos

(c) Hayes Valentine, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Julia Palmer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Rachel Crane, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Jonathan Curley, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Spiny chromis, Spiny Puller, Spiny-tail Puller, spotty-tail

Names in 3 more languages

German: Schwalbenschwanz-Riffbarsch
French: Chromis à épines
Simplified Chinese: 多刺棘光鰓雀鯛

Other scientific names: Abudefduf jordani, Acanthochromis polyacathus, Acanthochromis polycanthus, Acanthocromis polyacanthus, Chromis desmostigma, Dascyllus polyacanthus, Heptadecanthus brevipinnis, Heptadecanthus longicaudis, Heptadecanthus maculosus

Similar species

Golden Damsel
Amblyglyphidodon aureus
Yellowtail clownfish
Amphiprion clarkii
Anemone Demoiselle
Amphiprion ocellaris
Ternate chromis
Chromis ternatensis
Blue-green damselfish
Chromis viridis
Weber's chromis
Chromis weberi

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).
3,368 open-data records from 1908 to 2024.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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