Abudefduf saxatilis
(Linnaeus, 1758) · speciesAt a glance
Sources11 archives
Databases and archives Abudefduf saxatilis's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation12 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility44 825 records↗
OBISOcean Biodiversity Information System33 581 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI106 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics106 specimens↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗
WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
The sergeant major or píntano (Abudefduf saxatilis) is a species of damselfish. It grows to a maximum length of about 22.9 cm.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology2
Habitat & environment2
Uses & economy1
Other traits3
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Abudefduf saxatilis has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
Besides the big genome in the nucleus, cells carry a small, circular loop of DNA inside the cell's energy factories — the mitochondria. It is inherited almost only from the mother and is a leftover from ancient bacteria that moved into the cell. The mitochondrial markers above (ND*, COX, CYTB…) are read from exactly this loop. Outer ring = one strand, inner ring = the other.
The complete instruction manual Abudefduf saxatilis carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 481×GoaT · Animal Genome Size Database
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type78 406 records
Origin
Range
Depth
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions24 of 64 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 376 |
| CASlocation not on record | 192 |
| Washington, US | 169 |
| Cambridge, US | 146 |
| Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record | 93 |
| Tapachula, MX | 87 |
| South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversitylocation not on record | 85 |
| Los Angeles, US | 83 |
| UNICAMPlocation not on record | 79 |
| Chicago, US | 76 |
| Toronto, CA | 57 |
| University of Texas Biodiversity Collections (UTBC)location not on record | 49 |
| Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collectionlocation not on record | 47 |
| FishBaselocation not on record | 45 |
| Vancouver, CA | 45 |
| University of California San Diegolocation not on record | 41 |
| North Carolina Museum of Natural Scienceslocation not on record | 41 |
| Texas Memorial Museum, Texas Natural History Collectionlocation not on record | 39 |
| Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Veracruzana, Región Poza Rica-Tuxpanlocation not on record | 37 |
| UFESlocation not on record | 33 |
| Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulolocation not on record | 33 |
| Ann Arbor, US | 30 |
| Paris, FR | 26 |
| Morelia, MX | 24 |
| New Haven, US | 15 |
| SEAOBISlocation not on record | 13 |
| USP-RPlocation not on record | 12 |
| INMAlocation not on record | 9 |
| Geneva, CH | 8 |
| Frankfurt am Main | 7 |
| University of Alabamalocation not on record | 7 |
| San Nicolás de los Garza, MX | 7 |
| South Kensington, GB | 6 |
| Stockholm, SE | 6 |
| PUC-RSlocation not on record | 5 |
| Mexico City, MX | 4 |
| Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 4 |
| Wuzhou, CN | 3 |
| Museu Nacional/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeirolocation not on record | 3 |
| University of Alberta Museumslocation not on record | 3 |
| The Atlantic reference Centrelocation not on record | 3 |
| Universidad de La Salle (La Salle)location not on record | 2 |
| Honolulu, US | 2 |
| Londrina, BR | 2 |
| 2 | |
| Chicago, US | 1 |
| Central Michigan University Museum of Cultural and Natural Historylocation not on record | 1 |
| Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciêncialocation not on record | 1 |
| MZLUlocation not on record | 1 |
| UFRRJlocation not on record | 1 |
| University of Nebraskalocation not on record | 1 |
| Southeastern Louisiana University, Vertebrate Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| University of Minnesota, James Ford Bell Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 1 |
| Moore Laboratory of Zoology, Occidental Collegelocation not on record | 1 |
| University of Haifa, Israellocation not on record | 1 |
| Montgomery, US | 1 |
| Zoologisches Museum Hamburglocation not on record | 1 |
| El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad Chetumallocation not on record | 1 |
| Universidad del Valle de Guatemalalocation not on record | 1 |
| SNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung Münchenlocation not on record | 1 |
| National Natural History Collectionslocation not on record | 1 |
| UWFClocation not on record | 1 |
| Champaign, US | 1 |
| Oregon State Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
Where the DNA of Abudefduf saxatilis was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.