| Family: |
Tripterygiidae (Triplefin blennies), subfamily: Tripterygiinae |
| Max. size: |
3.5 cm SL (male/unsexed) |
| Environment: |
reef-associated; marine; depth range 2 - 15 m |
| Distribution: |
Southwest Pacific: Australia to New Caledonia, Fiji, then east to Tonga, Niue and American Samoa. |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal spines (total): 14-18; Dorsal soft rays (total): 6-10; Anal spines: 2-2; Anal soft rays: 18-21. Dorsal profile steep with very short snout; head and preopercular area naked; slender supraorbital tentacle; first dorsal fin a third of the height of second dorsal fin; body coloration gray with 5 indistinct, broad, paired brown bars; uneven bright orange spots on head and anterior body, small posteriorly, and mostly orange on posterior margins of scales; caudal-fin with black base, gray center with a midlateral orange band, a thin white margin, black submarginal line, and a wide bright red-orange arc. Dorsal rays III + XI-XV + 6-10; lateral line discontinuous, 21-22 + 17-19; mandibular pores 3 + 2 + 3 (Ref. 54980). |
| Biology: |
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). Minimum depth from Ref. 58018. |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 06 May 2010 Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
harmless |
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