Stegastes lacrymatus
A small, feisty reef damsel logged across Visayas, Okinawa and South Sinai, comfortable in 25-29C water year-round.
A small, deep-bodied damselfish around 7 cm, usually dark brown to olive with faint blue speckling scattered across the head and upper body that catches the light at close range. The tail is pale to translucent, which helps separate it from darker, uniformly coloured damsels nearby. It tends to hover close to a patch of reef rather than roam, giving you time to study the speckling pattern.
Spends most of its time hovering low over a patch of reef it treats as home turf, darting out to chase off other fish that drift too close. Divers usually see it holding position over rubble or coral rather than schooling, and it will often stand its ground rather than bolt when you approach. Feeding activity picks up through the day as it picks at algae and small invertebrates within its patch.
Like other Stegastes damselfish, it defends a small territory on the reef and will actively chase off fish many times its own size, a scrappy attitude that is often more memorable to divers than its colouring.
No strong seasonal pattern shows up in the sightings, and its comfort range of roughly 25 to 29 C covers most tropical reef conditions year-round, so any month works at its core sites.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
Most reliably logged in the Philippines, especially around Visayas, with strong numbers also coming out of Queensland in Australia and Okinawa in Japan. It shows up consistently across the Red Sea too, particularly South Sinai and Aqaba in Jordan, plus sites in Fiji, Kenya and the Seychelles' Inner Islands.
Mapping where Jewel Damselfish is logged…
The Philippines, particularly Visayas, is the most consistent place to find them, alongside Queensland in Australia and Okinawa in Japan. The Red Sea (South Sinai and Aqaba) and Fiji also produce regular sightings.
There is no clear seasonal pattern in sightings, and they sit comfortably in water from about 25 to 29 C, so they are a year-round find on the reefs where they occur.
Look for a small, dark brown to olive damselfish around 7 cm long with faint blue speckling on the head and upper body and a pale tail. It usually stays close to one patch of reef rather than swimming in open water.
They typically reach about 7 cm, making them one of the smaller reef damselfish divers encounter.
No, they pose no danger to divers. They may dart aggressively at your camera or mask if you linger over their patch of reef, but this is territorial bluster, not a real threat.
They are defending a small feeding territory on the reef and will chase off fish much larger than themselves to protect it, a behaviour typical of the Stegastes damselfish group.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
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