This is an article about the fish. For other uses see the disambiguation

Garibaldi (disambiguation)

- People :* Giuseppe Garibaldi , Italian revolutionary* Anita Garibaldi , Brazilian wife and comrade-in-arms of Giuseppe Garibaldi* Ricciotti Garibaldi , Italian soldier, son of Giuseppe and Anita Garibaldi...

 page.

The Garibaldi or Garibaldi damselfish (Hypsypops rubicundus) is a brightly colored orange fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 of the damselfish

Damselfish

Damselfish comprise the family Pomacentridae except those of the genera Amphiprion and Premnas. They can grow up to long. While most are marine, a few species inhabit the lower stretches of rivers in freshwater. Damselfish usually have bright colors. in tropical coral reefs, and many of those are...

 family that is native to the North-Eastern subtropical parts of the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

, ranging from Monterey Bay

Monterey Bay

Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California. The bay is south of San Francisco and San Jose, between the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterey....

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, to Guadalupe Island

Guadalupe Island

Guadalupe Island, or Isla Guadalupe is a volcanic island located 241 kilometers off the west coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and some 400 kilometers southwest of the city of Ensenada in Baja California state, in the Pacific Ocean...

, Baja California

Baja California

Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

. The common name is a reference to the Italian military and political figure Giuseppe Garibaldi

Giuseppe Garibaldi

Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...

 who wore a trademark red shirt.

Protection

This is the official marine state fish of California and is protected in California coastal waters. It is frequently seen off Santa Catalina Island, California

Santa Catalina Island, California

Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is...

 and in La Jolla Cove

La Jolla Cove

La Jolla Cove is a cove and a beach in La Jolla, San Diego, California. It is a very small beach within walking distance from the Children's Pool Beach and is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Southern California...

 (San Diego), where it is locally very common. It is also the mascot of the Georgia Aquarium

Georgia Aquarium

The Georgia Aquarium, located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, at Pemberton Place, is the world's largest aquarium with more than of marine and fresh water housing more than 120,000 animals of 500 different species...

.

Adult fish

The adult fish is a rich orange in color. The common name refers to the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi

Giuseppe Garibaldi

Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...

, who famously wore a bright red shirt, as did many of his followers.

Characteristics

Garibaldis grow up to 38 cm (15 in) in length. Juvenile Garibaldi are not as bright in color, but have iridescent blue spots which they lose as they become adult. They live from very shallow water to depths of up to 30 meters (100 ft), usually in association with reefs, and typically over rocky sea-bottoms. They feed mainly on invertebrates that they remove from the rocks.

Territory

Adult Garibaldis maintain a home territory

Territory (animal)

In ethology the term territory refers to any sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics...

. The male clears a sheltered nest site within his territory, and the female then deposits eggs within the nest. The male subsequently guards the nest until the eggs hatch after 19–21 days. During this time period, the male garibaldi aggressively tries to keep all other fish away from the very edible eggs. Like all male damsel fish, the male Garibaldi will boldly attack much larger swimming creatures, including humans, to the point of biting divers in order to try to drive them away from the area where the eggs are deposited.