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Blenny
Blenny (from the Greek and , mucus, slime) is a common name for many types of fish, including several families of percomorph marine, brackish, and some freshwater fish sharing similar morphology and behaviour. Six families are considered "true blennies", grouped under the order Blenniiformes; its members are referred to as blenniiformids. About 151 genera and nearly 900 species have been described within the order. The order was formerly classified as a suborder of the Perciformes but the 5th Edition of ''Fishes of the World'' divided the Perciformes into a number of new orders and the Blenniiformes were placed in the percomorph clade Ovalentaria alongside the such taxa as Cichliformes, Mugiliformes and Gobiesociformes. Families The six "true blenny" families are: * Blenniidae Rafinesque, 1810 - combtooth blennies, including the sabre-toothed blennies * Chaenopsidae Gill, 1865 - pikeblennies, tubeblennies and flagblennies * Clinidae Swainson, 1839 - clinids, inclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combtooth Blenny
Combtooth blennies are blenniiformids; percomorph marine fish of the family Blenniidae, part of the order Blenniiformes. They are the largest family of blennies with around 401 known species in 58 genera. Combtooth blennies are found in tropical and subtropical waters in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans; some species are also found in brackish and even freshwater environments. Description The body plan of the combtooth blennies is archetypal to all other blennioids; their blunt heads and eyes are large, with large continuous dorsal fins (which may have three to 17 spines). Their bodies are compressed, elongated, and scaleless; their small, slender pelvic fins (which are absent in only two species) are situated before their enlarged pectoral fins, and their tail fins are rounded. As their name would suggest, combtooth blennies are noted for the comb-like teeth lining their jaws. By far the largest species is the eel-like hairtail blenny at 53 cm in length; most ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabre-toothed Blenny
The false cleanerfish (''Aspidontus taeniatus'') is a species of combtooth blenny, a mimic that copies both the dance and appearance of ''Labroides dimidiatus'' (the bluestreak cleaner wrasse), a similarly colored species of cleaner wrasse. It likely mimics that species to avoid predation, as well to occasionally bite the fins of its victims rather than consume parasites. Most veiled attacks occur on juvenile fish, as adults that have been attacked in the past may avoid or even attack ''A. taeniatus.'' It is indigenous to coral reef habitats in the Indo-Pacific. Mimicry Appearance The false cleanerfish primarily lives in coral reef margins among the cleaning stations of the bluestreak cleaner wrasse (''Labroides dimidiatus''), and are usually seen near locations of one or more ''L. dimidiatus.'' With its territory primarily overlapping with its model fish, the false cleanerfish mimics both the appearance and occasionally the behavior of said fish. Though ''A. taeniatus'' is t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ophioblennius Steindachneri
''Ophioblennius steindachneri'', the large-banded blenny or the Panamic fanged blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the eastern Pacific ocean. This species reaches a length of SL. Description The large-banded blenny exhibits dark coloration as a juvenile, but develops brownish to olive coloration with lighter markings, as well as a dark spot behind the eye and several broad bands from the head and fading behind the pectoral fins. Distribution ''Ophioblennius steidachneri'' is found in the eastern Pacific from the Gulf of California to Peru. Its range encompasses the Revillagigedo Islands, Cocos Island, Malpelo Island and the Galápagos Islands. Habitat and biology The adults of ''Ophioblennius steidachneri'' are mainly found in the surge zone of exposed rocky headlands which have steep slopes where they wedge themselves into crevices near the shore in shallow water. They are territorial and will dart out of their hiding place to defend their terri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mugiliformes
The mullets or grey mullets are a family (Mugilidae) of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since Roman times. The family includes about 78 species in 20 genera. Mullets are distinguished by the presence of two separate dorsal fins, small triangular mouths, and the absence of a lateral line organ. They feed on detritus, and most species have unusually muscular stomachs and a complex pharynx to help in digestion. Classification and naming Taxonomically, the family is currently treated as the sole member of the order Mugiliformes, but as Nelson says, "there has been much disagreement concerning the relationships" of this family. The presence of fin spines clearly indicates membership in the superorder Acanthopterygii, and in the 1960s, they were classed as primitive perciforms, while others have grouped them in Atheriniformes. They a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William John Swainson
William John Swainson FLS, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, malacologist, conchologist, entomologist and artist. Life Swainson was born in Dover Place, St Mary Newington, London, the eldest son of John Timothy Swainson the Second (1756–1824), an original fellow of the Linnean Society. He was cousin of the amateur botanist Isaac Swainson.Etymologisches Worterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen by H. Genaust. Review by Paul A. Fryxell ''Taxon'', Vol. 38(2), 245–246 (1989). His father's family originated in Lancashire, and both grandfather and father held high posts in Her Majesty's Customs, the father becoming Collector at Liverpool. William, whose formal education was curtailed because of an impediment in his speech, joined the Liverpool Customs as a junior clerk at the age of 14."William Swainson F.R.S, F.L.S., Naturalist and Artist: Diaries 1808–1838: Sicily, Malta, Greece, Italy and Brazil." G .M. Swainson, Palmerston, NZ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clinidae
Clinidae is a family of marine fish in the order Blenniiformes within the series Ovalentaria, part of the Percomorpha . Temperate blennies, the family ranges from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, in both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. The family contains about 86 species in 20 genera, the 60-cm-long giant kelpfish (''Heterostichus rostratus'') being the largest; most are far smaller. With small cycloid scales, clinoid blennies may have a deep or slender build; some members of the family bear the name "snake blenny" and "eel blenny" for this reason. Dorsal spines outnumber soft rays; two spines are in the anal fin. Like many other blennies, clinids possess whisker-like structures on their heads called cirri. The majority of species possesses rich, highly variable colouration in shades of reddish-brown to olive, often with cryptic patterns; this suits the lifestyle of clinid blennies, which frequent areas of dense weed or kelp. Generally staying within intertida ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flagblenny
The blennioid family Chaenopsidae includes the pike-blennies, tube-blennies, and flagblennies, all percomorph marine fish in the order Blenniiformes. The family is strictly tropical, ranging from North to South America. Members are also present in waters off Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Fourteen genera and 90 species are represented, the largest being the sarcastic fringehead, ''Neoclinus blanchardi'', at in length; most are much smaller, and the group includes perhaps the smallest of all vertebrates, ''Acanthemblemaria paula'', measuring just long as an adult. With highly compressed bodies, some may be so elongated as to appear eel-like; chaenopsids are scaleless and lack lateral lines. Their heads are rough and may be armed with spines. There may be 17 to 28 spines in the dorsal fin, with two in the anal fin. The habit of taking up home in abandoned worm tubes has earned some species in this family the name "tube-blenny". Many will also inhabit empty clam shells, which also ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tubeblenny
The blennioid family Chaenopsidae includes the pike-blennies, tube-blennies, and flagblennies, all percomorph marine fish in the order Blenniiformes. The family is strictly tropical, ranging from North to South America. Members are also present in waters off Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Fourteen genera and 90 species are represented, the largest being the sarcastic fringehead, ''Neoclinus blanchardi'', at in length; most are much smaller, and the group includes perhaps the smallest of all vertebrates, ''Acanthemblemaria paula'', measuring just long as an adult. With highly compressed bodies, some may be so elongated as to appear eel-like; chaenopsids are scaleless and lack lateral lines. Their heads are rough and may be armed with spines. There may be 17 to 28 spines in the dorsal fin, with two in the anal fin. The habit of taking up home in abandoned worm tubes has earned some species in this family the name "tube-blenny". Many will also inhabit empty clam shells, which also ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pikeblenny
The blennioid family Chaenopsidae includes the pike-blennies, tube-blennies, and flagblennies, all percomorph marine fish in the order Blenniiformes. The family is strictly tropical, ranging from North to South America. Members are also present in waters off Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Fourteen genera and 90 species are represented, the largest being the sarcastic fringehead, ''Neoclinus blanchardi'', at in length; most are much smaller, and the group includes perhaps the smallest of all vertebrates, ''Acanthemblemaria paula'', measuring just long as an adult. With highly compressed bodies, some may be so elongated as to appear eel-like; chaenopsids are scaleless and lack lateral lines. Their heads are rough and may be armed with spines. There may be 17 to 28 spines in the dorsal fin, with two in the anal fin. The habit of taking up home in abandoned worm tubes has earned some species in this family the name "tube-blenny". Many will also inhabit empty clam shells, which also ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodore Nicholas Gill
Theodore Nicholas Gill (March 21, 1837 – September 25, 1914) was an American ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist and librarian. Career Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural history. He was associated with J. Carson Brevoort in the arrangement of the latter's entomological and ichthyological collections before going to Washington D.C. in 1863 to work at the Smithsonian Institution. He catalogued mammals, fishes and mollusks most particularly although maintaining proficiency in other orders of animals. He was librarian at the Smithsonian and also senior assistant to the Library of Congress. He was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1867. Gill was professor of zoology at George Washington University. He was also a member of the Megatherium Club at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Fellow members frequently mocked him for his vanity. He was president of the American Association f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaenopsidae
The blenny, blennioid family Chaenopsidae includes the pike-blennies, tube-blennies, and flagblennies, all percomorpha, percomorph marine fish in the order Blenniiformes. The family is strictly tropical, ranging from North America, North to South America. Members are also present in waters off Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Fourteen genera and 90 species are represented, the largest being the sarcastic fringehead, ''Neoclinus blanchardi'', at in length; most are much smaller, and the group includes perhaps the smallest of all vertebrates, ''Acanthemblemaria paula'', measuring just long as an adult. With highly compressed bodies, some may be so elongated as to appear eel-like; chaenopsids are scaleless and lack lateral lines. Their heads are rough and may be armed with spines. There may be 17 to 28 spines in the dorsal fin, with two in the anal fin. The habit of taking up home in abandoned worm tubes has earned some species in this family the name "tube-blenny". Many will also inhabit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; October 22, 1783September 18, 1840) was a French 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimately settling in Ohio in 1815, where he made notable contributions to botany, zoology, and the study of prehistoric earthworks in North America. He also contributed to the study of ancient Mesoamerican linguistics, in addition to work he had already completed in Europe. Rafinesque was an eccentric and erratic genius. He was an autodidact, who excelled in various fields of knowledge, as a zoologist, botanist, writer and polyglot. He wrote prolifically on such diverse topics as anthropology, biology, geology, and linguistics, but was honored in none of these fields during his lifetime. Indeed, he was an outcast in the American scientific community whose submissions were rejected automatically by leading journals. Among his theories were th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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