First record of the large caerulean damselfish, Pomacentrus Caeruleopunctatus (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Pomacentridae), from reunion island, south-west indian ocean

Abstract

The large caerulean damselfish, Pomacentrus caeruleopunctatus Allen, 2002, is recorded for the first time from Reunion Island. Two individuals were observed and photographed between January and March 2012 on L’Hermitage reef, located on the west coast of the island. A review of high-resolution profile photographs of these two individuals shows that their external morphological characteristics agree well with those reported in the original description of the species. These observations suggest an extension of the known distribution of the species, previously restricted to the Seychelles Islands, Madagascar, and Tanzania, to the Mascarene Archipelago, and moreover the known depth range of this species.