[2][3] The species was originally described by Johannes Peter Müller and Franz Hermann Troschel in 1848.

[5] Abudefduf taurus is native to tropical and subtropical waters in Atlantic Ocean, where it occurs off the coast of southern Florida and in the Caribbean Sea, as well as Cape Verde and the continental coast of Africa from Senegal to Angola.

Adults of the species are typically found in rocky inshore reefs, in the vicinity of wave-cut rock ledges, tidepools, and limestone-rich coastal environments.

Adults of the species also feed on Zoanthus and hydroids, while juveniles may also consume copepods.

It is an oviparous species, with individuals forming distinct pairs during breeding and males guarding and aerating substrate-attached eggs.