Pomacentrus auriventris
Tiny golden-bellied damsel spotted across Sabah reefs and Raja Ampat in warm 28-29C water, uncommon but worth the hunt.
A tiny, torpedo-shaped damsel at just 3cm, easiest to pick out by the contrast between its bluish-grey upper body and the wash of gold-yellow across its belly and lower flanks. It holds close to the reef structure rather than swimming in open water, and its small size means you'll often notice the colour flash before the fish itself.
Expect to find it hovering low over coral rubble and reef structure, staying within a body length or two of cover rather than venturing into open water. Like most small damsels it holds its ground fairly well around divers, darting for shelter only when approached closely, and it's most easily picked out during daytime reef dives when the light brings out the belly colour.
It's logged as uncommon at every site where divers have recorded it, so even in its Sabah and Raja Ampat strongholds, spotting one usually takes a bit of patient scanning of the reef rather than a quick glance.
No clear seasonal pattern shows up in the data, and with water sitting in a narrow 28.1 to 29.3C band year-round, this is a fish you can look for on any dive regardless of month.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
Sabah in Malaysia is the strongest area for this fish, with a wide spread of sites logging it, followed by Nusa Tenggara and Raja Ampat in Indonesia. It also turns up around Dili in Timor-Leste, and in smaller numbers in Sulawesi and Bali, making it a reef fish worth watching for across the Coral Triangle.
Mapping where Goldbelly Damselfish is logged…
Sabah in Malaysia has the most recorded sightings, with further populations in Nusa Tenggara and Raja Ampat in Indonesia, and smaller numbers around Dili in Timor-Leste. It's a Coral Triangle species through and through.
There's no detected season for this fish, and it lives in consistently warm water between 28.1 and 29.3C, so it's present on the reef year-round with no particular month standing out.
Look for a very small damsel, about 3cm long, with a bluish-grey body and a distinctive golden-yellow belly. It stays close to reef structure rather than schooling in open water, unlike some other damselfish.
They stay tiny, topping out around 3cm, which is typical for damselfish in the Pomacentrus genus. Their small size means they're often spotted by their colour contrast rather than their profile.
It's logged as uncommon even at the sites where it does occur, so while it has a solid range across Malaysia, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste, you'll generally need to search the reef carefully rather than expect an easy sighting.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Yellowtail Clownfish
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