''Meiacanthus'' is a genus of

combtooth blennies 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 tropica ...

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 by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

s. Many species in this genus make their way into 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 ...

trade and several are venomous. The genus name ''Meiacanthus'' is derived from the Greek ''meion'' meaning "less" and ''akantha'' meaning "thorn" and refers to most species having relatively few

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 ...

spines.

Species

There are currently 28 recognized species in this genus: * '' Meiacanthus abditus'' Smith-Vaniz, 1987 * '' Meiacanthus abruptus'' Smith-Vaniz & G. R. Allen, 2011 * '' Meiacanthus anema'' (

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Meiacanthus atrodorsalis ''Meiacanthus atrodorsalis'', the forktail blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the western Pacific ocean. This species grows to a length of TL. This venomous species can also be found in the aquarium An aqu ...

'' ( Günther, 1877) (Forktail blenny) * '' Meiacanthus bundoon'' Smith-Vaniz, 1976 (Bundoon blenny) * '' Meiacanthus crinitus'' Smith-Vaniz, 1987 * ''

Meiacanthus cyanopterus ''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 Gr ...

'' Smith-Vaniz & G. R. Allen, 2011 * '' Meiacanthus ditrema'' Smith-Vaniz, 1976 (One-striped poison-fang blenny) * ''

Meiacanthus erdmanni ''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 Gr ...

'' Smith-Vaniz & G. R. Allen, 2011 * '' Meiacanthus fraseri'' Smith-Vaniz, 1976 * '' Meiacanthus geminatus'' Smith-Vaniz, 1976 * '' Meiacanthus grammistes'' (

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) (Striped poison-fang blenny) * '' Meiacanthus kamoharai'' Tomiyama, 1956 * '' Meiacanthus limbatus'' Smith-Vaniz, 1987 * ''

Meiacanthus lineatus ''Meiacanthus lineatus'', the lined fangblenny, is a venomous species of combtooth blenny found in the Great Barrier Reef in the western Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It ...

'' ( De Vis, 1884) (Lined fangblenny) * '' Meiacanthus luteus'' Smith-Vaniz, 1987 (Yellow fangbelly) * '' Meiacanthus mossambicus''

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 ex ...

, 1959 (Mozambique fangblenny) * '' Meiacanthus naevius'' Smith-Vaniz, 1987 * '' Meiacanthus nigrolineatus'' Smith-Vaniz, 1969 (Blackline fangblenny) * '' Meiacanthus oualanensis'' ( Günther, 1880) * '' Meiacanthus phaeus'' Smith-Vaniz, 1976 * '' Meiacanthus procne'' Smith-Vaniz, 1976 * '' Meiacanthus reticulatus'' Smith-Vaniz, 1976 * '' Meiacanthus smithi'' Klausewitz, 1962 (Disco blenny) * '' Meiacanthus tongaensis'' ( Smith-Vaniz, 1987 * '' Meiacanthus urostigma'' Smith-Vaniz, Satapoomin & G. R. Allen, 2001 * '' Meiacanthus vicinus'' Smith-Vaniz, 1987 * '' Meiacanthus vittatus'' Smith-Vaniz, 1976 (One-striped fangblenny)

References

Blenniinae Marine fish genera {{Blenniidae-stub