Editing Pomacentridae (section)

== Taxonomy ==
Around 385 [[species]] are classified in this family, in about 31 [[genus|genera]]. Of these, members of two genera, ''Amphiprion'' and  ''Premnas'', are commonly called [[clownfish]] or anemonefish, while members of other genera (e.g., ''[[Pomacentrus]]'') are commonly called damselfish.<ref name="FishBase">{{FishBase family | family = Pomacentridae | year = 2007 | month = July}}</ref>

The members of this family were traditionally classified in four subfamilies: [[Clownfish|Amphiprioninae]], [[Chrominae]], [[Lepidozyginae]], and [[Pomacentrinae]].,<ref name="Allen1975">{{cite book | author=Allen, G.R. | year=1975 | title=Damselfishes of the South Seas | publisher=T.F.H. Publications | location=Neptune City, NJ | isbn=978-0-87666-034-8}}</ref> although more recent phylogenetic analyses instead support the four subfamilies Chrominae, [[Glyphisodontinae]], [[Microspathodontinae]], and Pomacentrinae, with the clownfishes nested within the latter subfamily.<ref name="CofF" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=FAMILY Details for Pomacentridae - Damselfishes |url=https://fishbase.se/summary/FamilySummary.php?ID=350 |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=fishbase.se |language=en}}</ref>

The earliest known fossil damselfish is †''[[Chaychanus]]'' from the [[Danian|Early Paleocene]] of [[Chiapas]], [[Mexico]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cantalice |first1=Kleyton Magno |last2=Alvarado-Ortega |first2=Jesús |last3=Bellwood |first3=David Roy |date=2020-03-01 |title=†Chaychanus gonzalezorum gen. et sp. nov.: A damselfish fossil (Percomorphaceae; Pomacentridae), from the Early Paleocene outcrop of Chiapas, Southeastern Mexico |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0895981119303001 |journal=Journal of South American Earth Sciences |volume=98 |pages=102322 |doi=10.1016/j.jsames.2019.102322 |bibcode=2020JSAES..9802322C |issn=0895-9811}}</ref>

=== Etymology ===
The name of the family is derived from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] words; ''poma'' roughly translates to the English "cover", referring to the fishes' [[Operculum (Fish)|opercula]], and ''kentron'' is Greek for [[Sting (biology)|sting]]. The name refers to the serrations found along the margins of the opercular bones in many members of this family.<ref name="FishBase"/>