• Corpus ID: 131311146

Notes on the Life History of Two Californian Pomacentrids: Garibaldis, Hypsypops rubicunda (Girard), and Blacksmiths, Chromis punctipinnis (Cooper)

@inproceedings{Limbaugh1964NotesOT,
  title={Notes on the Life History of Two Californian Pomacentrids: Garibaldis, Hypsypops rubicunda (Girard), and Blacksmiths, Chromis punctipinnis (Cooper)},
  author={Conrad Limbaugh},
  year={1964}
}

• C. Limbaugh
• Published 1964
• Environmental Science

The range, life history, food, competitors, predators, and ectoparasitic cleaners of H ypsypops rubicunda and Chromis punctipinnis are considered. Both species exhibit elaborate prespawning and spaw ning behavior. N est preparation and nest behavior of the garibaldis are discussed in detail. THE POMACENTRIDS are well represented in tropical waters; de Beaufort ( 1940) listed 88 species divided into 11 genera for the IndoAustralian Archipelago, and Smith (19 53) gave 24 species for the South African area. The literature concerni ng N ew World species badly needs revising, but there seem to be approximately 20 species, divisible into 8 genera, in the eastern PaCific. On e of these genera, Azurina, appears to be endemic to the eastern Pacific. Most of the species are small and often vividly colored. Most exhibit distinct habitat preferences, varying widely from species to species. Such forms as H ypsypops, Microspath odon, and Pomancentrus are bottom-dwelling and generally take cover in holes in reefs, whi le Chromis 1 This paper, based on research notes maintained by the aut hor prior to his death, has been organized by Howard M. Feder, H artnell College, Salinas, California. Conrad Limb augh , chief diving officer at Scripps Institution of Oceanograph y and one of the world 's foremost und erwater naturalists, had been working on numerous and diverse research projects before he met his untimely death in a diving accident in the Mediterranean , in March 1960. Many of his pro jects, includin g th is one, were left unfinished . Because of the extensive field notes and ph otograph ic records he ma intained, it is anticipa ted that eventually the resul ts of most of his stud ies can be assembled and pu blished so the vast wealth of his accumulated knowledge will not be lost. Preparation of th is manuscript was aided by the Conrad Limb augh Memorial Fund and by a grant from the Permanent Science Fund of the American Academy of Art s and Sciences. Manuscript received J une 15, 1962 . 41 punctipinnis and C. atrilobatus tend to form schools well off the bottom. Th e schooling habit is most mark ed in the slender, graceful Azurina eupalama and A . hirundo . Members of this family exhibit elaborate prespawning and spawning behavior. Males establish nesting sites which they zealously protect from all intru ders both before and after egg-laying activities ( Limbaugh, 1955; Longley and Longley, in Longley and Hildebrand, 1941 ) . Only two pomacentrids are repr esented in southern California waters: the bright orange garibaldi, H ypsypops rubicunda, and the more somber blacksmith, Chromis punctipinnis.