| Tripterygiidae (Triplefin blennies), subfamily: Tripterygiinae |
| 2.5 cm SL (male/unsexed) |
|
reef-associated; marine; depth range 1 - 14 m |
| Western Indian Ocean: Red Sea, along East African coast to southern Kwazulu-Natal, Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros and St. Brandon Shoals; not recorded in Gulf of Oman. |
|
Dorsal spines (total): 14-16; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9-10; Anal spines: 1-1; Anal soft rays: 17-18; Vertebrae: 34-36. This species is distinguished by the following characters: low first dorsal fin, brown and green radii around the eye, males with yellow body and melanophores on head to base of pectoral fins, females with yellow-green body, brown stripe on nose and orange bar below eye; further, D III + XI-XIII + 9-10 (usually III + XII + 10); A I, 17-18 (usually 18 rays); pectoral fin 15: usually 3, 5, 7; lateral line with pored scales12-14, notched scales 20-23 (usually 22); longitudinal scale series 31; dentary pores 3 + 1 + 3 ; head 3.2-3.8 in SL; eye 2.9-3.7 in HL; nape partially scaled, abdomen no scales, single row of scales at base of caudal fin; supratemporal sensory canal crescent-shaped; supraorbital cirrus small and pointed; first dorsal fin about equal in height to second in males, lower in females (Ref. 57774, 88983). |
| Adults occur in shallow, sheltered waters, on hard corals; found on the upper part of coral reefs, usually along the reef margin in depths of about 1 m, often on corals covered by low algae. Also found in bays or sheltered lagoons (Ref. 88983). Eggs are hemispherical and covered with numerous sticky threads that anchor them in the algae on the nesting sites (Ref. 240). Larvae are planktonic which occur primarily in shallow, nearshore waters (Ref. 94114). |
|
Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 04 February 2009 Ref. (130435)
|
| harmless |
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