Microspathodon, Günther, 1862

Tang, Kevin L., Stiassny, Melanie L. J., Mayden, Richard L. & DeSalle, Robert, 2021, Systematics of Damselfishes, Ichthyology & Herpetology 109 (1), pp. 258-318 : 283

Microspathodon .

— This genus is composed of four species from the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, three of which are found in rocky habitats, with the fourth ( Microspathodon chrysurus ) inhabiting coral reefs. The name likely derives from their distinctive dentition ( Jordan and Evermann, 1898: 1565; Scharpf and Lazara, 2020). Cooper and Santini (2016) recognized the tribe Microspathodontini for Microspathodon and its closest relatives: Hypsypops , Nexilosus , and Similiparma . They did so mostly on the basis of their large adult size, referring to them as ‘‘giant damselfishes,’’ and geographic distribution, confined to the Atlantic and eastern Pacific. They characterized microspathodontins as benthic algal grazers that share a predominantly temperate distribution and preference for shallow, rocky habitats. Species of Parma display substantial overlap in the diagnostic characters for Microspathodontini (Allen and Hoese, 1975). Parma consists of large (some species approach or exceed 200 mm SL; Allen and Hoese, 1975; Allen, 1987a, 1991), benthic algal grazers that favor rocky substrates in shallow, temperate waters (Allen and Hoese, 1975). However, the difference in their geographic distribution, restricted to the waters off Australia and New Zealand, distinguishes them from members of Microspathodontini .