Ryan Photographic - Blenniidae - Blennies

Family Blenniidae

Fishbase lists 420 species in 53 genera in this family which makes it one of the more speciose. The biggest species is around 50 cm but most are smaller than 15 cm. They are typically bottom-dwelling and most species lack a swim bladder. Basically blennies come in two varieties - those with comb teeth which are usually algae (and occasionally small invertebrate feeders) and those which are "saber-toothed" in addition to the "normal" comb-teeth. The saber-toothed species include several that mimic cleaner wrasse and take bites out of unwitting vicitms that have presented themselves to be cleaned. On several occasions I have seen a disgruntled fish chase the blenny after being bitten. Apparently the saber-toothed blennies don't use their saber teeth for nibbling - they are reserved for defense and in the Meiacanthus genus are venomous.

In the tropics, blennies are very effective inhabitants of rock pools where they may sometimes reach astonishing densities. These "rockskppers" - so named because of their ability to jump from pool to pool are regularly exposed to the air and during extreme low tides hundreds may be clustered together in the same crack.

Aspidontus dussumieri Lance blenny

Atrosalarias fuscus Brown coral blenny

Camouflage blenny (Rockskipper)

Crossosalarias macrospilus Triplespot blenny

FISH 2970 Crossosalarias macrospilus Triplespot blenny, Raja Ampat, West Papua

Ecsenius bathi Bath's blenny

FISH 0878 Ecsenius bathi Bath's blenny, orange-striped variation, Raja Ampat, West Papua

FISH 2817 Ecsenius bathi Bath's blenny, normal color, Raja Ampat, West Papua

Ecsenius? Blenny

Ecsenius bicolor Bicolor blenny

Ecsenius lividanalis Blackspot blenny

FISH 1165 Ecsenius lividanalis Blackspot blenny, Raja Ampat, West Papua.

FISH 3542 Ecsenius lividanalis Blackspot blenny, Raja Ampat, West Papua.

Ecsenius midas Midas blenny

Ecsenius stigmatura Tailspot blenny

FISH 1426 Ecsenius stigmatura Tailspot blenny, Raja Ampat, West Papua.

FISH 3180 Ecsenius stigmatura Tailspot blenny, Raja Ampat, West Papua.

FISH 2535 Ecsenius stigmatura Tailspot blenny, Raja Ampat, West Papua (photo by Mike Agnew copyright Ryan Photographic)

Ecsenius yaeyamaensis Yaeyama blenny

FISH 3067 Ecsenius yaeyamaensis Yaeyama blenny, Raja Ampat, West Papua.

Meiacanthus grammistes Striped fangblenny

FISH 2221 Meiacanthus grammistes Striped fangblenny, Raja Ampat, West Papua

FISH 2225 Meiacanthus grammistes Striped fangblenny, Raja Ampat, West Papua.

Ophioblennius steindachneri, Panamic fanged blenny

FISH 6090 Ophioblennius steindachneri, Panamic fanged blenny, Sea of Cortez, Baja California Sur.

Parablennius laticlavius Crested blenny

FISH 9197 Parablennius laticlavius Crested blenny, Poor Knights, New Zealand

Petroscirtes breviceps Shorthead fangblenny

Plagiotremus azaleus Sabertooth blenny

FISH 5243 Plagiotremus azaleus Sabertooth blenny, Sea of Cortez, Baja California Sur.

Plagiotremus laudandus Fijian fangblenny

Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos Bluestriped fangblenny

FISH 2327 Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos Bluestriped fangblenny, Raja Ampat, West Papua

FISH 2777 Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos Bluestriped fangblenny, color variant, Raja Ampat, West Papua.

Plagiotremus tapeinosoma Piano Fangblenny

Salarias patzneri Patzner's blenny

FISH 4287 Salarias patzneri Patzner's blenny, Raja Ampat, West Papua.

Xenomedea rhodopyga Redrump blenny

FISH 6238 Xenomedea rhodopyga, Redrump blenny, Sea of Cortez

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