---
title: "Black Damsel"
description: "Neoglyphidodon melas — Fish. Neoglyphidodon melas, known as the bowtie damselfish or black damselfish, is a species of tropical reef fish in the damselfish family Pomacentridae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/black-damsel
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Black Damsel

> Neoglyphidodon melas — Fish. Neoglyphidodon melas, known as the bowtie damselfish or black damselfish, is a species of tropical reef fish in the damselfish family Pomacentridae.

- Scientific name: *Neoglyphidodon melas*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 1659
- Wikidata: [Q2478328](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2478328)
- iNaturalist taxon: [132370](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/132370)

## Names

- en: Black Damsel
- de: Schwarzer Riffbarsch
- es: Damisela negra
- fr: Demoiselle noire
- pt: Donzela-de-gravata

## Countries with the most observations

AU (300), ID (246), NC (193), PH (119), EG (46), MY (39), JP (28), TH (20), TW (18), IL (10), SB (9), TL (9)

## Summary

Neoglyphidodon melas, known as the bowtie damselfish or black damselfish, is a species of tropical reef fish in the damselfish family Pomacentridae.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoglyphidodon_melas

## Photo

![Black Damsel](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/black-damsel/medium.jpg)

Photo: george_vaughan · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/328891600

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/black-damsel?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).