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Story: Coastal fish

Demoiselles

Video file

Schools of demoiselles (Chromis dispilus) swim at the Poor Knights Islands off northern New Zealand. Known as the swallows of the sea, demoiselles swoop and dart while feeding on plankton.

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Natural History New Zealand

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Coastal fish – Fish of the northern and southern rocky sea floor, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/8839/demoiselles (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 2 March 2009.