Honey-breast Damsel
Dischistodus prosopotaenia
- Usual depth1–9 m
- Water temperature25–30 °C
- Best monthsSeptember, October, and November
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) James-LaFontaine, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Dischistodus prosopotaenia, also known as honey-head damsel and honey-breast damsel, is a species of damselfish. It is native to the eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific. It reaches up to 17 centimetres (6.7 in) in length. The fish usually has a white breast, but there is a yellow-breasted variant that also has a black blotch on each side. The fish lives in lagoons and reefs.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Dischistodus prosopotaenia”, 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: 36 records
- February: 23 records
- March: 44 records
- April: 58 records
- May: 66 records
- June: 28 records
- July: 62 records
- August: 29 records
- September: 70 records
- October: 73 records
- November: 76 records
- December: 32 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–9 m · Deepest record: 16.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–30 °C
Photos
(c) Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · 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) desertnaturalist, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) PampaSorro, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Honey-breast Damsel, Honey-breasted Damsel, Honey-head damsel, Honeyhead Damsel, Honeyhead Damselfish
Names in 3 more languages
- French
- Demoiselle miel
- Japanese
- Dandarasuzumedai, ダンダラスズメダイ
- Simplified Chinese
- 厚殼仔, 黑背盘雀鲷, 黑背盤雀鯛
Other scientific names: Dischistodus cartieri, Pomacentrus interorbitalis, Pomacentrus prosopotaenia
Similar species
Black-vent damselDischistodus melanotus
Two-barred PullerDischistodus perspicillatus
Pale-spot DamselDischistodus chrysopoecilus
Banded DamselDischistodus fasciatus
Monarch DamselDischistodus pseudochrysopoecilus
Cow pilotAbudefduf saxatilis
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).
- 834 open-data records from 1852 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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