Abudefduf

Abudefduf is a genus of fish in the family Pomacentridae. They are also known as the sergeant-majors The name Abudefduf comes from Arabic word ابو دفدوف abu, "the one with"; and def, "side", and the intensive plural ending -duf. Thus, the genus' name means "the one with prominent sides".

== General biology == The approximately 20 species of Abudefduf may be divided into planktivores and benthivores and three broadly pantropical clades. Two of the Abudefduf clades are primarily benthivorous and a third clade is composed of planktivores and is the most species-rich. Most diversification has occurred in the last 10 million years within this genus across all clades.