Abudefduf

Abudefduf is a genus of fish in the family Pomacentridae. They are also known as the sergeant-majors The name Abudefduf comes from Arabic word ابو دفدوف abu, "the one with"; and def, "side", and the intensive plural ending -duf. Thus, the genus' name means "the one with prominent sides".

General biology

The approximately 20 species of Abudefduf may be divided into planktivores and benthivores and three broadly pantropical clades. Two of the Abudefduf clades are primarily benthivorous and a third clade is composed of planktivores and is the most species-rich. Most diversification has occurred in the last 10 million years within this genus across all clades.
In their native environment, sergeant majors are very abundant, often being one of the dominant species in a locale. Research indicates that some Abudefduf species are undergoing range expansion towards more temperate waters in Australia.

Species

The following 21 species are recognized in the genus Abudefduf:

Abudefduf abdominalis
Abudefduf bengalensis
Abudefduf caudobimaculatus Okada & Ikeda, 1939
Abudefduf concolor
Abudefduf conformis J. E. Randall & Earle, 1999
Abudefduf declivifrons
Abudefduf hoefleri
Abudefduf lorenzi Hensley & G. R. Allen, 1977
Abudefduf margariteus
Abudefduf natalensis Hensley & J. E. Randall, 1983
Abudefduf nigrimargo Wibowo, Koeda, Muto & Motomura, 2018
Abudefduf notatus
Abudefduf saxatilis
Abudefduf septemfasciatus
Abudefduf sexfasciatus
Abudefduf sordidus
Abudefduf sparoides
Abudefduf taurus
Abudefduf troschelii
Abudefduf vaigiensis
Abudefduf whitleyi G. R. Allen & D. R. Robertson, 1974