THE STEINHART AQUARIUM - Gulf of Guinea Science ...

Adults live secretively in reefs, camouflaged
by their barred or spotted color pattern. Nocturnally
retreat into a sand burrow containing
1 or 2 adults
Maintain their nocturnal sand burrows by collecting
and spitting the sediment out.
Have small, conical teeth, unlike the welldeveloped
teeth of true blennies.
Only species in the family.
SUBORDER BLENNIODEI
(TRUE BLENNIES)
Crevice Kelpfish
Gibbonsia montereyensis (Clinidae)
Kelpfishes and Fringeheads
Distribution: British Columbia to Baja California.
Habitat: Lives in rocky areas among algae.
Appearance: Color varies from reddish
to lavender or brown, depending on
surroundings. Patterning also varies: may
be plain colored, striped or spotted. It has a
long dorsal fin which is raised at both ends.
Grows to 11 cm.
Remarks: Can change color to match
surroundings; typically rests with tail curved
behind, often well camouflaged among coralline
algae.
Bicolor Blenny
Ecsenius bicolor (Blenniidae)
Combtooth Blennies
Distribution: Tropical Indo-Pacific, from
Maldives north to southern Japan, south to
Great Barrier Reef; throughout Micronesia.
Habitat: Inhabit clear lagoon and seaward reefs
with mixed corals and algae-covered rocks at
depths 2–25 m.
Appearance: Highly variable. In a common
phase, anterior half is blue to dull brown;
posterior half a dull orange—thus the common
name. Males generally larger than females, and
become more brightly colored during breeding
periods. Length to 10 cm.
Diet: Marine algae.
Reproduction and Development: Female lays
demersal, adhesive eggs.
Remarks: Bottom dwellers; sometimes hard to see
as they hide in caves and rock crevices with only
California Academy of Sciences
the head visible. Live solitary or in pairs.
177
Midas Blenny
Ecsenius midas (Blenniidae)
Combtooth Blennies
Distribution: Indo-Pacific: from Gulf of Aqaba
and southeast coast of Africa to Marquesas
Islands.
Habitat: Coral reefs in moderate current.
Appearance: Usually dark yellow in color,
with streaks of blue and gold over the body.
Elongate, thick body and large head with big
eyes. Max. length: ~13 cm.
Diet: Zooplankton.
Reproduction and Development: Oviparous,
eggs are demersal and adhesive.
Remarks: Can change colors quickly to
match the colors of other fish with which it
is swimming. In its orange-yellow phase, it
schools with Pseudanthias squamipinnis, which
it closely resembles in color.
Midas blennies have been compared to eels,
because of their undulating swimming motions,
and because they back into holes and crevices from
which they observe their surroundings.
Striped Poison-fang Blenny
Meiacanthus grammistes (Blenniidae)
Combtooth Blennies
Distribution: Western Pacific, including
Philippines, Indonesia, south to Great Barrier
Reef.
Habitat: Sheltered lagoons and seaward reefs.
Appearance: This colorful, elongate fish with
its spotted caudal fin and alternating black and
white stripes blending into bright yellow on
the head advertises its venomous bite. Max.
length: 11 cm.
Diet: Omnivorous; small invertebrates and
plant material.
Reproduction and Development: Oviparous.
Details unknown, but probably like most
blennies, the male entices the female to lay eggs
in a hole in the reef, and both male and female
may guard them until they hatch.
Remarks: About 50 blenny spp., including the
22 Meiacanthus spp., have evolved glands that
produce venom and fangs to deliver it. The fangs
are very large canines in the lower jaw that are
grooved to inject venom when the fish bites,
usually only in self-defense. Reports indicate that