Parma unifasciata
A brownish reef damsel banded with pale stripes, most reliably logged around New South Wales in 18-27°C water year-round.
A stocky, oval-bodied damselfish around 12 cm, usually brownish-grey with a paler vertical band or 'girdle' across the mid-body that gives it its name. Look for the blunt head, deep-set eye, and the way it holds station close to a favoured patch of reef or rock rather than roaming. Fins are rounded rather than sharply pointed, giving it a slightly dumpy silhouette compared to more streamlined reef fish.
Divers typically find it holding a position over rocky reef or low coral structure, picking at algae and small invertebrates rather than schooling or chasing prey in open water. It tends to sit its ground when a diver approaches rather than bolting for cover, which makes for a decent, unhurried look if you slow down near its patch of reef.
Like other Parma damselfish, individuals often defend a home patch of reef against intruders, including other fish, so the same spot on a dive site can reliably produce the same resident fish visit after visit.
Sightings show no detectable seasonal pattern, and the recorded temperature range of 18 to 27°C spans the region's cooler and warmer months alike, so it is reasonable to expect it on New South Wales reef dives at any time of year.
This is very much a New South Wales fish in the logged data, turning up across a broad spread of sites there and nowhere else in meaningful numbers. Within that region it sits at an uncommon-to-common level depending on the site, so it is worth checking site-level notes rather than assuming it everywhere on the coast.
Mapping where Girdled Scalyfin is logged…
Almost all logged sightings come from New South Wales, Australia, where it turns up across a wide range of rocky and reef-associated dive sites at uncommon to common frequency.
There's no clear seasonal pattern in the sightings, and it tolerates 18 to 27°C, so New South Wales reef dives should produce it in any month.
Look for a stocky brownish damselfish about 12 cm long with a pale vertical band across the body and a blunt-headed, rounded profile. It usually stays close to a fixed patch of reef rather than schooling in open water.
They reach around 12 cm, a typical size for a damselfish, making them easy to overlook against a busy reef background.
No, they pose no danger to divers. They may hold their ground when approached but show no aggressive behaviour toward people.
As with related Parma damselfish, individuals often stake out and defend a personal patch of reef, so returning divers can often find the same fish in the same spot on repeat visits.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Yellowtail Clownfish
3,523 sites
