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Spiny Puller
Acanthochromis polyacanthus (Bleeker, 1855)
Above and below: A Spiny Puller at a depth of 9 m, Tufi Jetty, Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, August 2004. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
A Spiny Puller and juveniles at a depth of 10 m, Agincourt Reef, Great Barrier Reef, off Port Douglas, Queensland, November 2005. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image. View image of juveniles.
A Spiny Puller at a depth of 28 m, Raine Island, far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, October 2005. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
A Spiny Puller at a depth of 15 m, Raine Island, far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, November 2001. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
The Spiny Puller can be separated from other Indo-Pacific Damselfishes by its high number of dorsal fin spines (17 vs. 8-15, commonly 13-14).
Its colouration is variable. On the southern Great Barrier Reef it is bluish-grey. Further north it is brown anteriorly and white posteriorly. Some Coral Sea individuals are entirely white.
The species is also unusual because it is one of only three Damselfishes in which the larvae are not planktonic but instead stay with the parents after hatching (see third image). Juvenile Spiny Pullers feed by nipping mucus off the sides of their parents.
Spiny Pullers grow to about 14 cm in length.
The species occurs in coral reef and inshore waters of the tropical Western Pacific.
In Australia it is known from the north-western coast of Western Australia and the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.
It has also been called the Spiny Chromis, Spiny-tail Puller and Spotty-tail.
Related links
- View the Damselfishes list
- View the family Pomacentridae list
Further Reading
- Allen, G.R. 1991. Damselfishes of the World. Mergus. Pp. 271.
- Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. in Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.
- Kavanagh, K. 1998. Notes on the frequency and function of glancing behaviour in juvenile Acanthochromis (Pomacentridae). Copeia. 2: 493-496.
- Leis, J.M. & B.M. Carson-Ewart. (editors). 2000. The larvae of Indo-Pacific coastal fishes. An identification guide to marine fish larvae. Brill, Leiden. Pp. 870.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
