Big-lip damsel
Cheiloprion labiatus
- Usual depth1–7 m
- Water temperature25–30 °C
- Best monthsMarch, April, and September
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The big-lip damselfish is a species of ray-finned fish from the family Pomacentridae, it is the only species in the monotypic genus Cheiloprion. It occurs in the eastern Indian Ocean and south western Pacific Ocean and has been recorded from Sri Lanka east to the Solomon Islands, north to the Philippines, south to Vanuatu as well as northern Australia, from Shark Bay in Western Australia to Palm Island, Queensland. and Palau.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Big-lip damselfish”, 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: 21 records
- February: 20 records
- March: 26 records
- April: 29 records
- May: 16 records
- June: 18 records
- July: 16 records
- August: 14 records
- September: 22 records
- October: 20 records
- November: 17 records
- December: 13 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–7 m · Deepest record: 17 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–30 °C
Photos
(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) jeyre, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Big-lip damsel, Biglip Damsel, Big-lip Damsel-fish, Big-lip Damselfish, Kissing Damsel, largelipped puller, Minstrel Fish
Names in 2 more languages
- Japanese
- Atsukuchisuzumedai, アツクチスズメダイ
- Simplified Chinese
- 厚唇雀鯛, 厚殼仔, 鋸唇魚
Other scientific names: Pomacentrus labiatus
Similar species
Cow pilotAbudefduf saxatilis
Scissortail sergeantAbudefduf sexfasciatus
Indo-Pacific sergeantAbudefduf vaigiensis
Spiny chromisAcanthochromis polyacanthus
Black-snouted Sergeant-majorAmblyglyphidodon curacao
Black ChromisChromis xanthura
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).
- 147 open-data records from 1877 to 2017.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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