Black Damsel

Neoglyphidodon melas

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth2–13 m
Water temperature24–30 °C
Best monthsMay, June, and October
How commonOccasional

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

About this species

Neoglyphidodon melas, known as the bowtie damselfish or black damselfish, is a species of tropical reef fish in the damselfish family Pomacentridae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Neoglyphidodon melas”, 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: 111 records
February: 79 records
March: 102 records
April: 122 records
May: 190 records
June: 254 records
July: 114 records
August: 134 records
September: 148 records
October: 155 records
November: 136 records
December: 85 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–13 m · Deepest record: 187 m

0–10 m: 237 records
10–20 m: 61 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 1 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: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 24–30 °C

24–26 °C: 34 records
26–28 °C: 20 records
28–30 °C: 90 records

Photos

(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ashwin Srinivasan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) libby hepburn, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Black Damsel, Black Damsel-fish, Black Damselfish, Blue and Gold Damselfish, Blue And Gold Damsel-fish, bluefin damselfish, Bowtie Damsel, bowtie damselfish, royal damsel, royal damselfish, Zulu Damsel

Names in 6 more languages

German: Schwarzer Riffbarsch
Spanish: Damisela negra
French: Boeteur Noir, Demoiselle noire
Japanese: Kurosuzumedai, クロスズメダイ
Thai: ปลาตะกรับหัวเหลือง
Simplified Chinese: 厚殼仔, 黑新刻齒雀鯛, 黑新箭齒雀鯛, 黑新箭齿雀鲷

Other scientific names: Abudefduf melanopus, Abudefduf melas, Abudefduf rhomaleus, Abudefduf xanthonotus, Glyphisodon ater, Glyphisodon melanopus, Glyphisodon melas, Glyphisodon xanthonotus, Paraglyphidodon melanopus, Paraglyphidodon melas, Paraglyphipodon melas

Similar species

Behn's Damsel
Neoglyphidodon nigroris
bluebanded damselfish
Neoglyphidodon oxyodon
Bar-cheek Damsel
Neoglyphidodon thoracotaeniatus
Cow pilot
Abudefduf saxatilis
Scissortail sergeant
Abudefduf sexfasciatus
Indo-Pacific sergeant
Abudefduf vaigiensis

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).
1,660 open-data records from 1830 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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