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Blenny
Blennies (from the Greek and , mucus, slime) are a diverse clade of ray-finned fish in the suborder Blennioidei of the percomorph order Blenniiformes. They inhabit marine, brackish, and occasionally freshwater habitats, and generally share similar morphology and behaviour. About 151 genera and nearly 900 species have been described within the order. Taxonomy The order was formerly classified as a suborder of the Perciformes. However, the 5th Edition of ''Fishes of the World'' divided the Perciformes into a number of new orders and the Blenniiformes were placed in the percomorph clade Ovalentaria alongside the such taxa as Cichliformes, Mugiliformes and Gobiesociformes. ''Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes'' added many more taxa, including the damselfishes and clingfishes, into the Blenniiformes, so the "true blennies" were redefined as the suborder Blennioidei. The six "true blenny" families are: * Blenniidae Rafinesque, 1810 - combtooth blennies, including the sabre-t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combtooth Blenny
Combtooth blennies are blenny, blenniiformids; Percomorpha, percomorph marine fish of the family Blenniidae, part of the Order (biology), order Blenniiformes. They are the largest family of blennies with around 401 known species in 58 genera. Combtooth blennies are found in tropical and subtropical waters in the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pacific and Indian Oceans; some species are also found in brackish and even freshwater environments. Description The body plan of the combtooth blennies is archetypal to all other blennioids; their blunt heads and eyes are large, with large continuous dorsal fins (which may have three to 17 spines). Their bodies are compressed, elongated, and scaleless; their small, slender pelvic fins (which are absent in only two species) are situated before their enlarged pectoral fins, and their tail fins are rounded. As their name would suggest, combtooth blennies are noted for the comb-like teeth lining their jaws. By far the largest species ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabre-toothed Blenny
The false cleanerfish (''Aspidontus taeniatus'') is a species of combtooth blenny, a mimic that copies both the dance and appearance of ''Labroides dimidiatus'' (the bluestreak cleaner wrasse), a similarly colored species of cleaner wrasse. It likely mimics that species to avoid predation, as well as to occasionally bite the fins of its victims rather than consume parasites. Most veiled attacks occur on juvenile fish, as adults that have been attacked in the past may avoid or even attack ''A. taeniatus.'' It is indigenous to coral reef habitats in the Indo-Pacific. Mimicry Appearance The false cleanerfish primarily lives in coral reef margins among the cleaning stations of the bluestreak cleaner wrasse (''Labroides dimidiatus''), and are usually seen near locations of one or more ''L. dimidiatus.'' With its territory primarily overlapping with its model fish, the false cleanerfish mimics both the appearance and occasionally the behavior of said fish. Though ''A. taeniatus'' is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ophioblennius Steindachneri
Ophioblennius is a genus of combtooth blennies native to the Atlantic and to the Pacific coasts of the Americas. Species There are currently five recognized species in this genus: * '' Ophioblennius atlanticus'' (Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ..., 1836) (Horseface blenny) * '' Ophioblennius clippertonensis'' V. G. Springer, 1962 (Clipperton blenny) * '' Ophioblennius macclurei'' ( Silvester, 1915) (Redlip blenny) * '' Ophioblennius steindachneri'' D. S. Jordan & Evermann, 1898 (Large-banded blenny) * '' Ophioblennius trinitatus'' A. Miranda-Ribeiro, 1919 (Triple Blenny) Description Ophioblennius blennies have cylindrical bodies and blunt heads with cirri.Humann, P: "Snorkeling Guide to Marine Life", page 50. New World Publications,1995. They can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gobiesociformes
Clingfishes are ray-finned fishes of the family Gobiesocidae, the only family in the suborder Gobiesocoidei of the order Blenniiformes. These fairly small to very small fishes are widespread in tropical and temperate regions, mostly near the coast, but a few species live in deeper seas or fresh water. Most species shelter in shallow reefs or seagrass beds, clinging to rocks, algae and seagrass leaves with their sucking disc, a structure on their chest. They are generally too small to be of interest to fisheries, although the relatively large '' Sicyases sanguineus'' regularly is caught as a food fish, and some of the other species occasionally appear in the marine aquarium trade. Distribution and habitat Clingfishes are primarily found near the shore in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, including marginal seas such as the Mediterranean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and Gulf of California. The greatest species richness is in tropical and warm temperate regions, but the ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clinidae
Clinidae is a family of marine fish in the order Blenniiformes within the series Ovalentaria, part of the Percomorpha . Temperate blennies, the family ranges from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, in both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. The family contains about 86 species in 20 genera, the 60-cm-long giant kelpfish (''Heterostichus rostratus'') being the largest; most are far smaller. With small cycloid scales, clinoid blennies may have a deep or slender build; some members of the family bear the name "snake blenny" and "eel blenny" for this reason. Dorsal spines outnumber soft rays; two spines are in the anal fin. Like many other blennies, clinids possess whisker-like structures on their heads called cirri. The majority of species possesses rich, highly variable colouration in shades of reddish-brown to olive, often with cryptic patterns; this suits the lifestyle of clinid blennies, which frequent areas of dense weed or kelp. Generally staying within interti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flagblenny
The blennioid family Chaenopsidae includes the pike-blennies, tube-blennies, and flagblennies, all percomorph marine fish in the order Blenniiformes. The family is strictly tropical, ranging from North to South America. Members are also present in waters off Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Fourteen genera and 91 species are represented, the largest being the sarcastic fringehead, ''Neoclinus blanchardi'', at in length; most are much smaller, and the group includes perhaps the smallest of all vertebrates, '' Acanthemblemaria paula'', measuring just long as an adult. With highly compressed bodies, some may be so elongated as to appear eel-like; chaenopsids are scaleless and lack lateral lines. Their heads are rough and may be armed with spines. There may be 17 to 28 spines in the dorsal fin, with two in the anal fin. The habit of taking up home in abandoned worm tubes has earned some species in this family the name "tube-blenny". Many will also inhabit empty clam shells, which also se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodore Nicholas Gill
Theodore Nicholas Gill (March 21, 1837 – September 25, 1914) was an American ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist, and librarian. Career Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural history. He was associated with J. Carson Brevoort in the arrangement of the latter's entomological and ichthyological collections before going to Washington, DC, in 1863 to work at the Smithsonian Institution. He catalogued mammals, fishes, and mollusks most particularly, although he maintained proficiency in other orders of animals. He was librarian at the Smithsonian and also senior assistant to the Library of Congress. He was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1867. Gill was professor of zoology at George Washington University. He was also a member of the Megatherium Club at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Fellow members frequently mocked him for his vanity. He was president of the American Associati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaenopsidae
The blennioid family Chaenopsidae includes the pike-blennies, tube-blennies, and flagblennies, all percomorph marine fish in the order Blenniiformes. The family is strictly tropical, ranging from North to South America. Members are also present in waters off Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Fourteen genera and 91 species are represented, the largest being the sarcastic fringehead, ''Neoclinus blanchardi'', at in length; most are much smaller, and the group includes perhaps the smallest of all vertebrates, '' Acanthemblemaria paula'', measuring just long as an adult. With highly compressed bodies, some may be so elongated as to appear eel-like; chaenopsids are scaleless and lack lateral lines. Their heads are rough and may be armed with spines. There may be 17 to 28 spines in the dorsal fin, with two in the anal fin. The habit of taking up home in abandoned worm tubes has earned some species in this family the name "tube-blenny". Many will also inhabit empty clam shells, which also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; 22 October 178318 September 1840) was a French early 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimately settling in Ohio in 1815, where he made notable contributions to botany, zoology, and the study of Mound Builders, prehistoric earthworks in North America. He also contributed to the study of ancient Mesoamerican languages, Mesoamerican linguistics, in addition to work he had already completed in Europe. Rafinesque was an eccentric and erratic genius. He was an autodidact, who excelled in various fields of knowledge, as a zoologist, botanist, writer and Polyglot (person), polyglot. He wrote prolifically on such diverse topics as anthropology, biology, geology, and linguistics, but was honored in none of these fields during his lifetime. Indeed, he was an outcast in the American scientific community and his submissions were automati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
