Blueribbon Damsel
Chrysiptera brownriggii
- Usual depth3–12 m
- Water temperature19–30 °C
- Best monthsApril
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Jacek Pietruszewski, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Jacek Pietruszewski · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Chrysiptera brownriggii, commonly known as the surge damselfish, is a species of marine fish. It is widespread in Indo-Pacific waters from East Africa to the Marquesas Islands and Society Islands, north to Japan and south to Australia. Its common name arises because it is associated with the rubble in channels created by tidal surges in reefs, but it is also found on reef flats and submerged terraces. It is territorial but is frequently encountered in groups. The identity of the person honoured by the specific name was not stated by Bennett in his original description but it is almost certainly Robert Brownrigg (1759-1833) who was governor of Ceylon where the type was collected.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Chrysiptera brownriggii”, 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: 42 records
- February: 399 records
- March: 632 records
- April: 1,077 records
- May: 540 records
- June: 318 records
- July: 170 records
- August: 102 records
- September: 177 records
- October: 68 records
- November: 40 records
- December: 27 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 3–12 m · Deepest record: 41.3 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 19–30 °C
Photos
(c) Darren Obbard, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Darren Obbard · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Ewout Knoester · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Aleksandr Gromov, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Matteo Bellucci, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Blueribbon Damsel, Surge Damselfish, Surge Demoiselle
Names in 3 more languages
- French
- Demoiselle de houle
- Japanese
- ミヤコキセンスズメダイ
- Simplified Chinese
- 勃氏刻齒雀鯛, 勃氏金翅雀鯛, 厚殼仔
Other scientific names: Abudefduf miyakoe, Abudefduf xanthozona, Abudefduf xanthozonus, Chaetodon brownriggii, Chryseptera brownriggii, Chrysiptera brownriggi, Chrysiptera caudofasciata, Chrysiptera leucopoma, Chrysiptera leucopomus, Chrysiptera xanthozona, Glyphidodon amabilis, Glyphidodon taenioruptus, Glyphidodon xanthozona, Glyphidodontops leucopomus, Glyphisodon albofasciatus, Glyphisodon leucopomus, Glyphisodon xanthozona
Similar species
Twinspot damselfishChrysiptera biocellata
Blue Damsel-fishChrysiptera cyanea
Grey demoiselleChrysiptera glauca
King DamselfishChrysiptera rex
Blackcap DamselChrysiptera rollandi
Talbot's DamselChrysiptera talboti
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).
- 4,396 open-data records from 1828 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.