Blue Damselfish (Colors of the Animal Kingdom by Yowie Group)

The blue damselfish (Chrysiptera cyanea) is a member of the Pomacentridae family (damselfishes and clownfishes) that inhabits reefs and lagoons within the Indian and western Pacific oceans. It is also included in Yowie Group’s Colors of the Animal Kingdom series. Yowie Group is a company that produces chocolate candy, molded around plastic eggs that contain toy animals. As evidenced by this particular figure, many of the animals Yowie produces are obscure or endangered species not commonly produced in the toy market. In recent weeks my family has grown quite fond of Yowie eggs, which have educational value and who’s toys are consistently far more superior to those found within the similar Kinder Eggs.

The Yowie blue damselfish measures 2.25” (5.7 cm). The actual blue damselfish isn’t much larger, reaching 3.34” (8.5 cm). Upon opening the egg in which this figure was contained I was immediately blown away by how well executed this little toy was, being overall very similar to some of Safari’s better TOOB figures. That said, it’s not a perfect blue damselfish. Although it seems a bit pedantic to do so I did indeed count the fin rays on this toy and compared them to what’s stated on Fishbase. They’re all wrong, all well.

The Yowie blue damselfish is painted a uniform blue color with a black stripe that wraps around the snout and passes through the eyes, additional black spots are painted around it. Mature males of the species have a yellow snout and tail, which this figure lacks. Females have a black spot on the base of the dorsal fin and this figure lacks the spot, so I guess it’s an immature male? Some pictures of the species online also lack the black spot.

The blue damselfish is a popular saltwater aquarium fish, a hardy although semi-aggressive species. Males and females pair up for breeding and males then guard the eggs. Because the males can be so territorial, they’re often called blue devils and are bold enough to chase off fishes larger than themselves. In the wild they feed on algae, copepods, and other small invertebrates.

The Yowie blue damselfish is presented with its tail sweeping towards the right. Although incorrectly numbered the fin rays are well executed, as is the scale detail and sculpting around the mouth and eyes. Overall, this is a fantastic toy fish and as far as I know it’s the only toy available to represent the species. If you want one, you’ll have to start buying Yowie eggs or head off to eBay where they’re going to be a bit overpriced. Apparently, there are places online where you can trade Yowie toys, but I haven’t looked much into that, yet.