Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 26, 2026

Chromis

Chromis is a genus of fish in the family Pomacentridae. While the term damselfish describes a group of marine fish including more than one genus, Chromis is the largest genus of damselfishes. Certain species within the genus are common in the aquarium trade.

Last revised
Jun 26, 2026
Read time
≈ 5 min
Length
1,110 w
Citations
11
Source
Chromis
Temporal range:
Late Miocene to present1
Chromis chromis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Blenniiformes
Family: Pomacentridae
Subfamily: Chrominae
Genus: Chromis
G. Cuvier, 1814
Type species
Sparus chromis
Species

Around 100, see text.

Chromis is a genus of fish in the family Pomacentridae. While the term damselfish describes a group of marine fish including more than one genus, Chromis is the largest genus of damselfishes. Certain species within the genus are common in the aquarium trade.

Species

Chromis alpha source ↗
Chromis dispilus source ↗
Chromis enchrysura source ↗
Chromis multilineata source ↗
Chromis nitida source ↗
Chromis notata source ↗
Chromis punctipinnis source ↗
Chromis scotti source ↗
Chromis viridis source ↗

These are the currently recognized species in this genus:23

    • Chromis pacifica Gerald R. Allen & Mark V. Erdmann, 20206
    • Chromis tweddlei Lisher, Viana & Gon 2024
    References

    References

    1. Sepkoski, J. (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009.
    2. Shepherd, Bart; Pinheiro, Hudson T.; Phelps, Tyler A. Y.; Easton, Erin E.; Pérez-Matus, Alejandro; Rocha, Luiz A. (1 May 2020). "A New Species of Chromis (Teleostei: Pomacentridae) from Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Salas y Gómez, Chile". Copeia. 108 (2): 326–332. doi:10.1643/CI-19-294. ISSN 0045-8511.
    3. Youtube <<Advance Marine Aquarium>> Creatures section, Damselfish – Author:Sublanding Fish[2020-06-19]
    4. Iwatsubo, H.; Motomura, H. (2013). "Redescriptions of Chromis notata (Temminck and Schlegel, 1843) and C. kennensis Whitley, 1964 with the Description of a New Species of Chromis (Perciformes: Pomacentridae)". Species Diversity. 18 (2): 193–213. doi:10.12782/sd.18.2.193. hdl:10232/00032116.
    5. Allen, Gerald R., & Allen, Mark G. (2021). Two new species of Chromis (Teleostei: Pomacentridae) from northwestern Australia and the southwestern Pacific Ocean, previously part of C. fumea (Tanaka, 1917). Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, 38, 78–103. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5601971
    6. Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. (2020) Chromis pacifica, a new Pacific Ocean damselfish distinct from Indian Ocean Chromis agilis (Teleostei: Pomacentridae). Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, 35, 102-117.; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3988552
    7. Tea, Yi-Kai; Gill, Anthony C.; Senou, Hiroshi (17 April 2019). "Chromis tingting, a new species of damselfish from mesophotic coral ecosystems of southern Japan, with notes on C. mirationis Tanaka (Teleostei: Pomacentridae)". Zootaxa. 4586 (2): 249–260. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4586.2.2. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 31716128. S2CID 145933393.