Notes on the Life History of Two Californian Pomacentrids: 
Garibaldis, Hypsypops rubicunda (Girard), and Blacksmiths, 
Cbromis punctipinnh (Cooper ) 1 
Conrad Limbaugh 
ABSTRACT: The range, life history, food, competitors, predators, and 
ectoparasitic cleaners of Hypsypops rubicunda and Chromis punctipinnis 
are considered. Both species exhibit elaborate prespawning and spawn- 
ing behavior. Nest 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 Lodo- 
Australian Archipelago, and Smith (1953) gave 
24 species for the South African area. The lit- 
erature concerning New World species badly 
needs revising, but there seem to be approxi- 
mately 20 species, divisible into 8 genera, in the 
eastern Pacific. One 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 prefer- 
ences, varying widely from species to species. 
Such forms as Hypsypops , Microspathodon, and 
Pomancentrus are bottom-dwelling and generally 
take cover in holes in reefs, while Chromis 
1 This paper, based on research notes maintained by 
the author prior to his death, has been organized by 
Howard M. Feder, Hartnell College, Salinas, California. 
Conrad Limbaugh, chief diving officer at Scripps 
Institution ' of Oceanography and one of the world’s 
foremost underwater 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 I960. Many of his projects, 
including this one, were left unfinished. Because of 
the extensive field notes and photographic records he 
maintained, it is anticipated that eventually the re- 
sults of most of his studies can be assembled and 
published so the vast wealth of his accumulated knowl- 
edge will not be lost. 
Preparation of this manuscript was aided by the 
Conrad Limbaugh Memorial Fund and by a grant 
from the Permanent Science Fund of the American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences. Manuscript received 
June 15, 1962. 
punctipinnis and C. atrilobatus tend to form 
schools well off the bottom. The schooling habit 
is most marked in the slender, graceful Azurina 
eupalama and A. hirundo. Members of this fam- 
ily exhibit elaborate prespawning and spawn- 
ing behavior. Males establish nesting sites which 
they zealously protect from all intruders both 
before and after egg-laying activities (Lim- 
baugh, 1955; Longley and Longley, in Longley 
and Hildebrand, 1941). 
Only two pomacentrids are represented in 
southern California waters: the bright orange 
garibaldi, Hypsypops rubicunda , and the more 
somber blacksmith, Chromis punctipinnis. 
GARIBALDI 
Brief Description 
A garibaldi is a deep-bodied fish with coarse 
scales. It has a single dorsal fin with about 12 
spines and 16 rays. The large male garibaldi has 
a lump on the forehead. The adults are uniformly 
bright orange, but the young bear many irides- 
cent blue spots on their orange bodies (Figs. 1, 
2) and gradually pass through numerous color 
phases before assuming adult coloration. The 
color pattern of the young was first described 
by Smith (1883). Developmental color phases 
and their biological significance as well as the 
biochemical aspects of the pigmentations of 
young and adults have been discussed by Fox 
(1936), Hubbs (1947), and Kritzler et ah 
(1950). 
41 
