Fish · La Saladita, Guerrero

Cortez Damselfish

Stegastes rectifraenum

Spanish: Castañeta de Cortés

Cortez Damselfish (Stegastes rectifraenum)
Photographed by htrinidad on iNaturalist · CC-BY-NC · taken in Dársena de Loreto, Parque Nacional Bahía de Loreto, not near La Saladita

Stegastes rectifraenum, commonly known as the Cortez damselfish or Cortez gregory, is a damselfish of the family Pomacentridae. It is native to the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, its range including Baja California in Mexico, and the Gulf of California. It is found on rocky inshore reefs at depths ranging from 1 to 10 m (3 ft 3 in to 32 ft 10 in).

TaxonomyActinopterygii › Blenniiformes › Pomacentridae
Local recordsNot recorded by research-grade iNaturalist observations within about 50 km; listed from the site's curated guide
Global records413 on iNaturalist

Interactive card with more photos, sounds and similar species Fish guide iNaturalist Wikipedia

Cite as: “Cortez Damselfish (Stegastes rectifraenum) at La Saladita”, La Saladita Field Guide, lasaladita.com/species/stegastes-rectifraenum/, updated 2026-09-26. Observation counts and months come from iNaturalist research-grade records within about 50 km of 17.8375°N, 101.7606°W (the survey box also takes in Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa and Troncones); summary text from Wikipedia where present.