PHOENIX ISLAND DAMSELFISH
Plectroglyphidodon phoenixensis Schultz, 1943
This damsel occurs at Johnston Island, south of Hawaii, and apparently drifts in as a waif to the Hawaiian chain on rare occasions. Dark brown with three slightly curved pinkish white bars and, sometimes, a pinkish tail, it looks like no other Hawaiian fish. It inhabits the surge zone of shallow rocky shores exposed to moderate to strong wave action in depths of 3-9 ft. where it feeds on algae, coral, and the zoanthid Palythoa caesia. The species was originally recorded in Hawaii from sightings of 13 individuals near Hekili and Papawai Points, south Maui, in 1988-89. Although some were paired, suggesting reproduction, all but one were gone by 1992 and the survivor disappeared sometime thereafter. The fish above was spotted in 2008 by Jeff and Sandra Hill off Kailua Kona, Hawai'i. In September 2017 nine individuals were recorded at French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Reports have become more frequent since then, but there is no evidence yet that these damsels are reproducing in Hawaii..The name comes from the Phoenix Islands in the Central Pacific, where (presumably) the species was first discovered. To about 3 ½ in. Photo: Ali'i Villas, Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i. 6 ft.