Lavender Dottyback
Cypho purpurascens
- Usual depth3–28 m
- Water temperature21–30 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, May, and November
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Cypho purpurascens. the oblique-lined dottyback or the lavender dottyback is a species of ray finned fish from the family Pseudochromidae which occurs in the western Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 7.5 centimetres (3.0 in) in length. These fish live in pairs, or are solitary, in or in the vicinity of crevices in the reef and holes located in tidal pools, lagoons and on the reef slopes.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Cypho purpurascens”, 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: 71 records
- February: 31 records
- March: 26 records
- April: 22 records
- May: 76 records
- June: 29 records
- July: 9 records
- August: 12 records
- September: 63 records
- October: 62 records
- November: 98 records
- December: 38 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 3–28 m · Deepest record: 37.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 21–30 °C
Photos
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) jeyre, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Lavender Dottyback, Oblique-lined dottyback, Obliquelined Dottyback
Names in 1 more languages
- Spanish
- Perca enana lavanda
Other scientific names: Nesiotes purpurascens, Pseudochromis mccullochi, Pseudochromis purpurascens
Similar species
AmbeetunbeetCongrogadus subducens
Darkstriped DottybackLabracinus cyclophthalmus
Brown DottybackPseudochromis fuscus
Marshall DottybackPseudochromis marshallensis
Blackmargin DottybackPseudochromis tapeinosoma
- Blue-barred Dottyback
Pseudochromis cyanotaenia
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).
- 861 open-data records from 1958 to 2023.
- Species data updated November 2, 2026.
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