---
title: "Spiny Chromis"
description: "Acanthochromis polyacanthus — Fish. The spiny chromis (Acanthochromis polyacanthus) is a species of damselfish from the western Pacific."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/spiny-chromis
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Spiny Chromis

> Acanthochromis polyacanthus — Fish. The spiny chromis (Acanthochromis polyacanthus) is a species of damselfish from the western Pacific.

- Scientific name: *Acanthochromis polyacanthus*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 1642
- Wikidata: [Q1851735](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1851735)
- iNaturalist taxon: [319335](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/319335)

## Names

- en: Spiny Chromis
- de: Schwalbenschwanz-Riffbarsch
- fr: Chromis à épines

## Countries with the most observations

AU (459), ID (192), PH (81), VU (49), SB (43), PG (11), TL (7)

## Summary

The spiny chromis (Acanthochromis polyacanthus) is a species of damselfish from the western Pacific. It is the only member of the genus Acanthochromis.

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

## Photo

![Spiny Chromis](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/spiny-chromis/medium.jpg)

Photo: george_vaughan · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/346377535

## Machine access

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