PHOENIX ISLAND DAMSELFISH
Plectroglyphidodon phoenixensis Schultz, 1943
Dark brown with three slightly curved pinkish white bars and, sometimes, a pinkish tail, this damsel 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. Extremely rare in the Hawaiian Islands, the species is known principally 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. In 2004 a lone individual was reported off Ka`a`awa, O`ahu, and another at French Frigate Shoals. The fish above was spotted in 2008 by Jeff and Sandra Hill off Kailua Kona, Hawai`i. This species occurs at Johnston Island and apparently drifts in as a waif to the Hawaiian chain on rare occasions. It was named after the Phoenix Islands in the Central Pacific, where (presumably) it was first discovered. To about 3 ½ in. Photo: Ali`i Villas, Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i. 6 ft.