Clinidae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

of marine fish in the order

Blenniiformes 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 ...

within the series

Ovalentaria Ovalentaria is a clade of ray-finned fishes within the Percomorpha, referred to as a subseries. It is made up of a group of fish families which are referred to in ''Fishes of the World's'' fifth edition as'' incertae sedis'', as well as the order ...

, part of the

Percomorpha Percomorpha () is a large clade of ray-finned fish that includes the tuna, seahorses, gobies, cichlids, flatfish, wrasse, perches, anglerfish, and pufferfish. Evolution Percomorpha are the most diverse group of teleost fish today. Teleosts, an ...

. Temperate blennies, the family ranges from the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, and

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

s, in both the

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

and

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

s. The family contains about 86 species in 20 genera, the 60-cm-long

giant kelpfish The giant kelpfish (''Heterostichus rostratus'') is a species of clinid native to the west coast of North America, where it is found from California to southern Baja California. It inhabits rocky areas with kelp and other large seaweeds. Its di ...

(''Heterostichus rostratus'') being the largest; most are far smaller. With small

cycloid scale A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as w ...

s, 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 Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwat ...

. Generally staying within intertidal zones to depths around 40 m, some species are also found in tide pools. Eggs are deposited on kelp for the male to guard. Clinids feed primarily on small

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

s and

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s. The name Clinidae derives from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''klinein'' meaning "sloping", a reference to the shape of the

sphenoid bone The sphenoid bone is an unpaired bone of the neurocranium. It is situated in the middle of the skull towards the front, in front of the basilar part of occipital bone, basilar part of the occipital bone. The sphenoid bone is one of the seven bones ...

Genera

These genera are classified in the family Clinidae: *''

Blennioclinus ''Blennioclinus'' is a genus of clinids found in the southeastern Atlantic and western Indian Ocean. Species There are currently two recognized species in this genus: * '' Blennioclinus brachycephalus'' (Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ...

Gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

, 1860 *''

Blennophis ''Blennophis'' is a genus of clinids found in the southeastern Atlantic ocean. Species There are currently two recognized species in this genus: * '' Blennophis anguillaris'' (Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, V ...

'' Swainson, 1839 *''

Cancelloxus ''Cancelloxus'' is a genus of clinids found in the southeastern Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water ...

J.L.B. Smith James Leonard Brierley Smith (26 September 1897 – 8 January 1968) was a South African ichthyologist, organic chemist, and university professor. He was the first to identify a taxidermied fish as a coelacanth, at the time thought to be long e ...

Smith, 1961 *''

Cirrhibarbis ''Cirrhibarbis capensis'', the barbelled klipfish, is a species of clinid found in subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean around South Africa. This species can reach a maximum length of TL. This species preys primarily on benthic crustacea ...

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, 1836 *''

Climacoporus ''Climacoporus navalis'', the fleet klipfish, is a species of clinid found in subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean along the coast of South Africa where it can be found in tide pools. This species can reach a maximum length of TL. It is c ...

Barnard Barnard is a version of the surname Bernard, which is a French and West Germanic masculine given name and surname. The surname means as tough as a bear, Bar(Bear)+nard/hard(hardy/tough) __NOTOC__ People Some of the people bearing the surname Ba ...

, 1935 *''

Clinitrachus ''Clinitrachus argentatus'', the cline, is a species of clinid found in shallow waters of the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. This species feeds primarily on benthic invertebrates. This species is currently the only known member of ...

'' Swainson, 1839 *''

Clinoporus ''Clinoporus biporosus'', the ladder klipfish, is a species of clinid found in subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean around the South African coast. It occurs in the subtidal zone down to a depth of . This species can reach a maximum length ...

'' Barnard, 1927 *''

Clinus ''Clinus'' is a genus of clinids found in the southeastern Atlantic and western Indian ocean. Species There are currently 19 recognized species in this genus on FishBase and 22 on WoRMS:Bailly, N. (2015). Clinus Cuvier, 1816. In: Froese, R. and ...

Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...

, 1816 *''

Cologrammus The short-tassel weedfish (''Cologrammus flavescens'') is a species of clinid native to the Pacific Ocean waters around New Zealand and Australia. This species are known to feed on fishes and benthic crustaceans. It is the only species in its ...

'' Gill, 1893 *'' Cristiceps'' Valenciennes, 1836 *''

Ericentrus ''Ericentrus rubrus'', the orange clinid, is a species of clinid endemic to the waters around New Zealand where it can be found in tide pools and in the subtidal zone from low water to depths of about . It prefers to inhabit beds of brown algae ...

'' Gill, 1893 *''

Fucomimus ''Fucomimus mus'', the Mousey klipfish, is a species of clinid found in subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean along the South African coast where it occurs in tide pools. This species can reach a maximum length of fish measurement, TL. This ...

'' Smith, 1946 *''

Gibbonsia ''Gibbonsia'' is a genus of clinids native to the eastern Pacific ocean. The name of this genus honours the American naturalist, physician and founder member of the California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a rese ...

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

, 1864 *''

Heteroclinus ''Heteroclinus'' is a genus of clinids found in the western Indo-Pacific. Species There are currently 16 recognized species in this genus: * ''Heteroclinus adelaidae'' Francis de Laporte de Castelnau, Castelnau, 1872 (Adelaide's weedfish) * ''He ...

'' Castelnau, 1872 *'' Heterostichus'' Girard, 1854 *'' Muraenoclinus'' Smith, 1946 *''

Myxodes ''Myxodes'' is a genus of clinids found along the Pacific coast of South America from Peru to Chile. Species There are currently three recognized species in this genus: * ''Myxodes cristatus'' Achille Valenciennes, Valenciennes, 1836 (Sailfin cl ...

'' Cuvier, 1829 *'' Ophiclinops'' Whitley, 1932 *''

Ophiclinus ''Ophiclinus'' is a genus of clinids native to the coastal waters around Australia. Species There are currently six recognized species in this genus: * ''Ophiclinus antarcticus'' Francis de Laporte de Castelnau, Castelnau, 1872 (Adelaide snakebl ...

'' Castelnau, 1872 *''

Pavoclinus ''Pavoclinus'' is a genus of clinids found in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and western Indian Ocean coastal waters of southern Africa. Species Nine recognized species are placed in this genus: * ''Pavoclinus caeruleopunctatus'' Guid ...

'' Smith, 1946 *''

Peronedys ''Peronedys anguillaris'', the eel blenny, is a species of clinid found in estuaries of southern Australia where it only inhabits beds of eelgrass Eelgrass is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * ''Zostera'', marine eelgrass * '' ...

'' Steindachner, 1883 *'' Ribeiroclinus'' S. Y. Pinto, 1965 *'' Smithichthys'' Hubbs, 1952 *'' Springeratus'' S. C. Shen, 1971 *''

Sticharium ''Sticharium'' is a genus of clinids native to the coastal waters of southern Australia. Species Two recognized species are in this genus: * ''Sticharium clarkae'' Anita George, A. George & Victor Gruschka Springer, V. G. Springer, 1980 (dusky c ...

'' Günther, 1867 *''

Xenopoclinus ''Xenopoclinus'' is a small genus of clinids native to the coast of South Africa. Species Two recognized species are in this genus: * ''Xenopoclinus kochi'' James Leonard Brierley Smith, J. L. B. Smith, 1948 (Platanna klipfish) * ''Xenopoclinus ...

'' Smith, 1948

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px Period = from:-65.5 till:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:-65.5 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-65.5 TimeAxis = orientation:hor AlignBars = justify Colors = #legends id:CAR value:claret id:ANK value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196) id:HER value:teal id:HAD value:green id:OMN value:blue id:black value:black id:white value:white id:cenozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258) id:paleogene value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32) id:paleocene value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37) id:eocene value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42) id:oligocene value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48) id:neogene value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1) id:miocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0) id:pliocene value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68) id:quaternary value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5) id:pleistocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68) id:holocene value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88) BarData= bar:eratop bar:space bar:periodtop bar:space bar:NAM1 bar:space bar:period bar:space bar:era PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(7,-4) bar:periodtop from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), E ...

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:

Pleist. The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:eratop from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q. PlotData= align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left color:miocene bar:NAM1 from: -23.03 till: 0 text:

PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 bar:period from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:

from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:era from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q658930 Blenniiformes Extant Miocene first appearances

Genera

Timeline

See also

External links