Combtooth blenny mudskipper (Alticus anjouanae) Reunion

Combtooth blennies are blenniiformids; percomorph marine

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

of the family Blenniidae, part of 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 "tru ...

. 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 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; some species are also found in

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

and even

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

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 Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

-like hairtail blenny at 53 cm in length; most other members of the family are much smaller. Combtooth blennies are active and often highly colourful, making them popular in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

hobby.

Habitat and behaviour

Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos (Blue-lined Sabertooth Blenny)

Generally

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

fish, combtooth blennies spend much of their time on or near the

bottom Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or dominant * Bottom (sex), a term used by gay couples and BDSM * Buttocks or bottom, part of th ...

. They may inhabit the rocky crevices of

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

s, burrows in sandy or muddy substrates, or even empty shells. Generally found in shallow waters, some combtooth blennies are capable of leaving the water for short periods during low tide, aided by their large pectoral fins which act as "feet". Small benthic

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 ...

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, and other sessile

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s are the primary food items for most species; others eat

alga Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mi ...

e or

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...

. One exceptional group of combtooth blennies deserves special mention: the so-called sabre-toothed blennies of the genera '' Aspidontus'', ''

Meiacanthus ''Meiacanthus'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. Many species in this genus make their way into the aquarium trade and several are venomous. The genus name ''Meiacanthus'' is derived from the Gre ...

'', ''

Petroscirtes ''Petroscirtes'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found in the western Pacific, and Indian oceans. Some species of this genus have venom that interacts with opioid receptors. Adults usually inhabit coastal reefs and estuaries to depths of about ...

'', ''

Plagiotremus ''Plagiotremus'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found throughout the Pacific 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 ...

'', and ''

Xiphasia ''Xiphasia'' is a small genus of combtooth blennies found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Species The currently recognized species in this genus are: * '' Xiphasia matsubarai'' Okada Okada (written: 岡田 literally "hill rice-paddy") is a Ja ...

''. These blennies have fang-like teeth with

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

glands at their bases. Species of the genera ''Aspidontus'' and ''Plagiotremus'' (such as the

false cleanerfish 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 ...

) are noted for their cunning

mimicry In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. Often, mimicry f ...

of cleaner

wrasse The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into 9 subgroups or tribes. They are typically small, most of them le ...

s: by imitating the latter's colour, form, and behaviour, the blennies are able to trick other fish (or even divers) into letting down their guard, long enough for the blennies to nip a quick mouthful of skin or scale. Variable Sabretooth Blenny

Some combtooth blennies form small groups, while others are solitary and territorial. They may be either diurnal or

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

, depending on the species. Females lay

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

in shells or under rock ledges; males guard the nest of eggs until hatching. Variable Sabretooth Blenny Brood

In some species, the eggs may remain in the

oviduct The oviduct in mammals, is the passageway from an ovary. In human females this is more usually known as the Fallopian tube or uterine tube. The eggs travel along the oviduct. These eggs will either be fertilized by spermatozoa to become a zygote, o ...

of the female until hatched. The fry of some species undergo an 'ophioblennius' stage, wherein the fish are

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...

(i.e., inhabiting the midwater) and have greatly enlarged pectoral fins and hooked teeth.

Classification

This family is currently divided into two subfamilies and approximately 58 genera and 397 species. The following genera are classified within the family Blenniidae:Smith-Vaniz, W.F. & Rose, J.M. (2012): Adelotremus leptus, a new genus and species of sabertooth blenny from the Red Sea (Teleostei: Blenniidae: Nemophini). ''Zootaxa,3249: 39–46.'' * Subfamily

Salarinae Salarinae is one of two subfamilies in the combtooth blenny family Blenniidae, it is the largest of the two subfamilies in the Blennidae with 43 genera. The species in this subfamily are mainly marine, with a few species which are found in fresh ...

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 ...

, 1859 ** '' Aidablennius'' Whitley, 1947 ** '' Alloblennius'' Smith-Vaniz &

Springer Springer or springers may refer to: Publishers * Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag. ** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...

, 1971 ** ''

Alticus ''Alticus'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It is one of 57 genera in the family Blenniidae. Species There are currently eight recognized species in this genus: * '' Alticus anjouanae'' ( Fourmanoir, 195 ...

'' Lacepède, 1800 ** ''

Andamia ''Andamia'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Species There are currently seven recognized species in this genus: * '' Andamia amphibius'' (Walbaum Walbaum is a German surname. Notable people with the surn ...

'' Blyth, 1858 ** '' Antennablennius'' Fowler, 1931 ** ''

Atrosalarias ''Atrosalarias'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found in the western Pacific Ocean and western Indian Ocean. Species There are currently three recognized species in this genus: * '' Atrosalarias fuscus'' ( Rüppell, 1838) * '' Atrosalarias ho ...

'' Whitley 1933 ** '' Bathyblennius'' Bath, 1977 ** ''

Blenniella ''Blenniella'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found in the 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 ...

'' Reid, 1943 ** '' Chalaroderma''

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

, 1944 ** '' Chasmodes''

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 ** '' Cirripectes'' Swainson, 1839 ** '' Cirrisalarias'' Springer, 1976 ** '' Coryphoblennius'' Norman, 1944 ** '' Crossosalarias'' Smith-Vaniz & Springer, 1971 ** '' Dodekablennos'' Springer & Spreitzer, 1978 ** '' Ecsenius''

McCulloch McCulloch is a Scottish surname. It's a variation of the Northern Irish surname McCullough. It's commonly found in Galloway. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan McCulloch (politician), New Zealand politician *Alan McLeod McCulloch ( ...

, 1923 ** '' Entomacrodus'' Gill, 1859 ** '' Exallias''

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

& Evermann, 1905 ** '' Glyptoparus'' J.L.B. Smith, 1959 ** '' Hirculops'' J.L.B. Smith, 1959 ** '' Hypleurochilus'' Gill, 1861 ** ''

Hypsoblennius ''Hypsoblennius'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Species There are currently 16 recognized species in this genus: * '' Hypsoblennius brevipinnis'' ( Günther, 1861) (Barnaclebill blenny) * '' Hypsoble ...

'' Gill, 1861 ** ''

Istiblennius ''Istiblennius'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The generic name is a compound noun composed of ''istio'' the Greek for "sail", referring to the high dorsal fin of the type species, ''Istiblennius muel ...

'' Whitley, 1943 ** '' Lipophrys'' Gill, 1896 ** ''

Litobranchus ''Litobranchus fowleri'', Fowler's rockskipper, is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the western Pacific ocean. It can reach a maximum length of fish measurement, SL. This species is currently the monotypic, only species in ...

'' Smith-Vaniz & Springer, 1971 ** ''

Lupinoblennius ''Lupinoblennius'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found in the western Atlantic Ocean 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 abou ...

'' Herre, 1942 ** '' Medusablennius'' Springer, 1966 ** ''

Microlipophrys ''Microlipophrys'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found in Atlantic ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Species There are currently seven recognized species in this genus:Almada F., Almada V.C., Guillemaud T., Wirtz P. (2005Phylogenetic relation ...

Almada Almada () is a city and a municipality in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon. The two cities are connected by the 25 de Abril Bridge. The population in 2011 was 174,030, in a ...

, Guillemaud & Wirtz, 2005 ** '' Mimoblennius'' Smith-Vaniz & Springer, 1971 ** '' Nannosalarias'' Smith-Vaniz & Springer, 1971 ** '' Ophioblennius'' Gill, 1860 ** '' Parablennius'' Miranda Ribeiro, 1915 ** '' Parahypsos'' Bath, 1982 ** '' Paralticus'' Springer & Williams, 1994 ** '' Pereulixia'' J.L.B. Smith, 1959 ** '' Praealticus'' Schultz & Chapman, 1960 ** '' Rhabdoblennius'' Whitley, 1930 ** ''

Salaria ''Salaria'' is a genus of fish in the family Blenniidae. It now contains marine species which are found around the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Freshwater species were reallocated to '' Salariopsis'' in 2022. One species, ...

'' Forsskål, 1775 ** '' Salarias'' Cuvier, 1816 ** '' Scartella'' Jordan, 1886 ** '' Scartichthys'' Jordan & Evermann, 1898 ** '' Stanulus'' J.L.B. Smith, 1959 * Subfamily

Blenniinae Blenniinae is one of two subfamilies in the combtooth blenny family Blenniidae, it is the smallest of the two subfamilies in the Blennidae with 16 genera and 95 species. Genera The following genera are classifies as belonging to the Blenniinae ...

Rafinesque, 1810 ** '' Adelotremus'' Smith-Vaniz &

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

, 2012 ** '' Aspidontus'' Cuvier, 1834 ** '' Blennius''

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1758 ** '' Enchelyurus''

Peters Peters may refer to: People * Peters (surname) * Peters Band, a First Nations band in British Columbia, Canada Places United States * Peters, California, a census-designated place * Peters, Florida, a town * Peters Township, Kingman County, Kan ...

, 1868 ** ''

Haptogenys ''Haptogenys bipunctata'' is a species of combtooth blenny found in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is the only known member of its genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living ...

'' Springer, 1972 ** ''

Laiphognathus ''Laiphognathus'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found in the western Pacific 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 ...

'' J.L.B. Smith, 1955 ** ''

'' Norman, 1944 ** ''

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

'' Springer, 1985 ** ''

Omobranchus ''Omobranchus'' is a large genus of combtooth blennies found in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. Species There are currently 21 recognized species in this genus: * '' Omobranchus anolius'' (Valenciennes, 1836) * '' Omobranchus aurosple ...

'' Valenciennes, 1836 ** ''

Omox ''Omox'' is a small genus of combtooth blennies found in the western Pacific Ocean 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 ...

'' Springer, 1972 ** ''

Parenchelyurus ''Parenchelyurus'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found in the Pacific, 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 As ...

'' Springer, 1972 ** ''

Rüppell, 1830 ** '' Phenablennius'' Springer & Smith-Vaniz, 1972 ** ''

'' Gill, 1865 ** ''

Spaniblennius ''Spaniblennius'' is a genus of combtooth blennies native to the eastern 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 ...

'' Bath & Wirtz, 1989 ** ''

'' Swainson. 1839

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:NAM2 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:eocene bar:NAM1 from: -55.8 till: 0 text: Exallias color:miocene bar:NAM2 from: -11.608 till: 0 text: Blennius 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.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q656955 Blenniiformes Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Articles which contain graphical timelines

Description

Habitat and behaviour

Classification

Timeline

See also

References