The eastern jumping blenny (''Lepidoblennius haplodactylus'') is a species of

triplefin Threefin or triplefin blennies are blenniiforms, small percomorph marine fish of the family Tripterygiidae. Found in tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, the family contains about 150 species in 30 genera. Th ...

blenny in the genus ''

Lepidoblennius ''Lepidoblennius'' is a genus of triplefins in the family Tripterygiidae. Both species occur in Australia. Species There are currently two species in the genus ''Lepidoblennius'': * Eastern jumping blenny, '' Lepidoblennius haplodactylus'' St ...

''. It was described by

Franz Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian Zoology, zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachne ...

in 1867 and is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the genus ''Lepidoblennius''.

Description

The eastern jumping blenny has a body which is slightly compressed and a head which has no scales and has a steep upper jaw. It is greyish to greenish yellow on its upperparts, becoming paler towards the belly. There are normally five dark saddle-like markings along its back while the flanks are marked with small irregular pearly spots and dark blotches or vertical streaks. There is a brown band which runs from the eye to the upper jaw. The maximum recorded

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

is . It can be identified from the

allopatric Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...

western jumping blenny by having a broad membrane separating the third and fourth spine in the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

Distribution

The eastern jumping blenny is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the eastern coast of Australia. It is found from

Rockhampton, Queensland Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

Western Port, Victoria Western Port, (Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung: ''Warn Marin'') commonly but unofficially known as Western Port Bay, is a large Tide, tidal bay in southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, opening into Bass Strait. It is the second ...

Habitat and biology

The eastern jumping blenny is found on shallow reefs where there are exposed rocks covered in algae, it is common in the intertidal zone and it is frequently observed at low tide on the water's edge when it can be seen to hop over damp, rocky surfaces. It is found at depths of .

Etymology and taxonomy

The genus name ''Lepidoblennius'' means "scaled blenny" while the

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

is a compound of ' meaning "single" and ' meaning "finger", a reference to the unbranched spines and rays of its

pectoral Pectoral may refer to: * The chest region and anything relating to it. * Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest * a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget * Pectoral (Ancient Egypt), a type of jewelry worn in ancient Egypt * Pectoralis ...

anal Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involvin ...

and

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

s. It was described by the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

Franz Steindachner in 1867 and the type locality is the

Fitzroy River Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

at Rockhampton Queensland. It is the type species of its genus.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q584686

Eastern jumping blenny The eastern jumping blenny (''Lepidoblennius haplodactylus'') is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus ''Lepidoblennius''. It was described by Franz Steindachner in 1867 and is the type species of the genus ''Lepidoblennius''. Description ...

Fish described in 1867