''Enneapterygius elegans'', the hourglass triplefin (or elegant triplefin in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

), is a species of

triplefin blenny Threefin or triplefin blennies are blenniiforms, small percomorph marine fish of the family Tripterygiidae. Found in tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, the family contains about 150 species in 30 genera. Th ...

in the genus ''

Enneapterygius ''Enneapterygius'' is a genus of fish in the family Tripterygiidae found in the Indian and Pacific Ocean. Species There are currently 63 recognized species in this genus: * '' Enneapterygius abeli'' ( Klausewitz, 1960) (Yellow triplefin) * '' ...

''. It was originally described by Wilhelm Peters as a species of ''

Tripterygium ''Tripterygium'' is a genus of plants in the family Celastraceae. It includes three species of lianas or scrambling shrubs native to Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Myanmar. ''Tripterygium wilfordii'' is used in Traditional Chinese med ...

'', in 1876, but was reassigned to ''Enneapterygius'' by W. Holleman in 1986. It is a

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

blenny known from

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

s across the western central Indian to the central

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, and swims at a depth range of 0–12 metres. Male hourglass triplefins can reach a maximum length of 4 centimetres. The blenny gets its common name from an

hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, or sand clock) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) from the ...

-shaped marking on its body.

References

External links

''Enneapterygius elegans''
at www.fishwise.co.za
''Enneapterygius elegans''
at

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

''Enneapterygius elegans''
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Encyclopedia of Life The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a free, online encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1.9 million living species known to science. It aggregates content to form "pages" for every known species. Content is compiled from existing trusted ...

''Enneapterygius elegans''
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ITIS The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3752605 elegans Fish described in 1876 Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters