Abudefduf whitleyi
Common on shallow Queensland reefs at 1-5m, this striped damselfish is a near-guaranteed sighting on Australia's east coast.
A small, deep-bodied damselfish around 9 cm with five or six dark vertical bars running down a silvery-white to pale yellow body. The bars are bold near the head and fade slightly toward the tail, and the overall shape is the classic stubby, oval damselfish profile. Look for it hovering in loose groups just above the reef rather than tucked into a single bommie.
Expect to find it hovering in the shallows, often in loose aggregations over coral rubble or reef flats in the 1 to 5 m range where light and food drift are both good. It picks at plankton and algae in mid-water rather than darting for cover, and generally holds its ground as divers approach rather than bolting for a bommie. Most sightings come from casual reef swims and snorkels rather than deep wall dives, given how shallow it sits.
Like other sergeants, it lays flattened egg mats on bare rock or dead coral and the guarding fish will dart at anything, including a curious diver's fingers, that gets too close to the nest.
No clear seasonal pattern shows up in the sighting data, and its comfort range of roughly 24 to 28C matches Queensland's reef temperatures for most of the year, so it's a fair bet on any visit.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
This is very much an Australian east-coast fish, most reliably logged on reefs across Queensland, with a smaller but steady presence around Nouméa in New Caledonia. A single New South Wales record shows it can turn up further south, but Queensland is where divers should expect it.
Mapping where Whitley's Sergeant is logged…
It's most reliably found on shallow reefs across Queensland, Australia, with additional sightings around Nouméa in New Caledonia. Queensland accounts for the vast majority of logged encounters.
There's no strong seasonal signal in the data, and it sits comfortably in 24 to 28C water, so it's present on Queensland reefs year-round rather than tied to a specific season.
Look for a small, oval-bodied damselfish about 9 cm long with pale silvery-yellow skin and five or six bold dark vertical bars. It's usually seen hovering in loose groups in shallow water above the reef.
They top out around 9 cm, making them one of the smaller, more compact damselfish you'll see hovering over shallow reef flats.
No. They're harmless to divers, though a nest-guarding individual may dart towards a hand or camera that gets too close to its egg patch.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Yellowtail Clownfish
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