Beaubrummel: The Reef's Two-Tone Damsel

With a smoky-gray back and a wash of yellow below, the beaubrummel is one of the more colorful little damselfish on the reef — and just as territorial as its cousins. Here's how to spot it near Jacó, plus five fun facts.

Beaubrummel · Stegastes flavilatus

How to spot the beaubrummel near Jacó

Look around rocky reef and rubble for a small fish with a gray upper body and a yellow belly and lower fins. Juveniles are brighter, with blue streaks on the head. As with other damsels, you'll often catch one defending its little patch of algae.

5 fun facts about the beaubrummel

• A fancy name for a small fish. 'Beaubrummel' borrows the name of a famously stylish English dresser — a nod to the fish's sharp two-tone look.
• Split down the middle. The gray-above, yellow-below coloring makes it one of the easier small damselfish to recognize.
• An algae farmer too. Like its relatives, it tends and defends a patch of algae as its food garden.
• Brighter when young. Juveniles show blue markings on the head and back that soften with age.
• An Eastern Pacific native. It lives only along the Pacific coast of the Americas, a common sight on rocky reefs.

The beaubrummel is just one of many characters down there. See the whole cast in our Snorkel Jaco fish directory, or read real guest photos and reviews on the Snorkel Jaco reviews.