''Meiacanthus'' is a genus of combtooth blennies found in the western

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 contine ...

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 t ...

s. Many species in this genus make their way into the aquarium trade and several are

venomous 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 ...

. The genus name ''Meiacanthus'' is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''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 c ...

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, 1852) (Threadless blenny) * '' Meiacanthus atrodorsalis'' ( Günther, 1877) (Forktail blenny) * '' Meiacanthus bundoon'' Smith-Vaniz, 1976 (Bundoon blenny) * '' Meiacanthus crinitus'' Smith-Vaniz, 1987 * '' Meiacanthus cyanopterus'' Smith-Vaniz & G. R. Allen, 2011 * '' Meiacanthus ditrema'' Smith-Vaniz, 1976 (One-striped poison-fang blenny) * '' Meiacanthus erdmanni'' Smith-Vaniz & G. R. Allen, 2011 * ''

Meiacanthus fraseri ''Meiacanthus fraseri'' is a species of combtooth blenny found in the western Indian Ocean, around Cargados Carajos. This species grows to a length of SL. Its specific name honours Thomas H. Fraser of the Mote Marine Laboratory Mote Mar ...

'' 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 ...

, 1836) (Striped poison-fang blenny) * '' Meiacanthus kamoharai'' Tomiyama, 1956 * '' Meiacanthus limbatus'' Smith-Vaniz, 1987 * '' Meiacanthus lineatus'' (

De Vis Charles Walter de Vis (Birmingham, England, 9 May 1829 – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 30 April 1915),

, 1884) (Lined fangblenny) * '' Meiacanthus luteus'' Smith-Vaniz, 1987 (Yellow fangbelly) * '' Meiacanthus mossambicus'' J. L. B. Smith, 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