The black-headed blenny (''Microlipophrys nigriceps'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Blenniidae, the combtooth blennies. This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the Mediterranean sea.

Taxonomy

The black-headed blenny was first formally described as ''Blennius nigriceps'' by the Italian

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

Decio Vinciguerra Decio Vinciguerra (23 May 1856 – 5 October 1934) was an Italian physician and ichthyologist who for many years was Director of the Aquarium of Rome. Early years Decio Vinciguerra was born in Genoa on 23 May 1856. He studied at the University of ...

with its type locality given as Porto Milna, Brazza Island,

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

. This species is now classified in the genus ''

Microlipophrys ''Microlipophrys'' is a genus of combtooth blenny, combtooth blennies found in Atlantic ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Species There are currently seven recognized species in this genus:Almada F., Almada V.C., Guillemaud T., Wirtz P. (2005Phyl ...

'' which is classified within the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Salariinae in the combtooth blenny family Blenniidae.

Etymology

The black-headed blenny has been classified in the genus ''Microlipophrys'', this genus was split from the genus ''

Lipophrys ''Lipophrys'' is a small genus of combtooth blennies found in Atlantic ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of 57 genera in the family Blenniidae. The generic name is made up of the Greek words meaning "want" or "absence" and meaning "e ...

'' in 2005 as the smaller species classified in ''Lipophrys'' formed a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

which was not the

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

of ''Lipophrys''. The name of this genus was coined by prefixing ''Lipophrys'' with ''micro-'', which means "small". The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''nigriceps'', means "black head", an allusion to the black crowns that nuptial males develop.

Description

The black-headed blenny has a thin, elongated body with a maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...

of . It has a rounded head with large eyes high on the sides of the head. There is a single

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

which is supported by 12 spines and between 14and 16 soft rays, the spiny part of the dosral fin is separated from the soft-rayed part by a notch. The background colour is red-orange with a black head and a greyish-blue reticulated pattern. The rays of the fins are red-orange with transluscent fin membranes on all the fins other than the

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

which is red-orange.

Distribution and habitat

The black-headed blenny is found in the Mediterranean Sea, except for the extreme western end of the sea and much of the North African littoral. This species occurs in caves and crevices in areas shadedd from the sun, it canb also be found in areas with corals. It is found at deoths between .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2115434 black-headed blenny Fish of the Adriatic Sea Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Taxa named by Decio Vinciguerra black-headed blenny