Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Blenniiformes (Blennies) >
Tripterygiidae (Triplefin blennies) > Tripterygiinae
Etymology: Enneapterygius: Greek, ennea = nine times + Greek, pterygion = little fin (Ref. 45335); kosiensis: Named after Kosi Bay, the area off which specimens were first found (Ref. 57774).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 30 m (Ref. 57774). Tropical
Western Indian Ocean: currently known only from northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 1.9 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 57774)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 15; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 16 - 17. Dorsal fins III+XII+9; anal fin I,16-17 (usually 17 rays); pectoral fins 13, all rays simple; lateral
line with 12 pored scales and 21-22 notched scales, notched segment starting second scale row below end of pored segment, overlapping by one scale. Total lateral scales 32; transverse scales 1/4. Vertebrae 10+22. Mandibular pores 2+1/2+2. Head 3.2-3.5, body depth 5.1-5.3 in SL; eye 3.1-3.7 in head length; maxilla 2.6-2.9 in head length. Small fish, less than 20 mm SL. Body slender; scales large; nape scaled; belly with smaller, thin cycloid scales. Pelvic fins slender, rays united by a thin, fragile membrane for about one third length of shorter ray. First dorsal fin slightly higher than second, second 75-90% of body depth. Longest pectoral-fin ray reaches nearly to base of first ray of third dorsal fin. Supratemporal sensory
canal crescent-shaped. Mouth oblique, reaching vertical through anterior margin of pupil; interorbital concave and broad, about equal to pupil diameter; orbital cirrus a simple rounded flap and about half pupil diameter in length (Ref. 57774).
Collected from a flat reef (Ref. 57774). Female members of the Tripterygiidae have eggs that 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).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Holleman, W., 2005. A review of the triplefin fish genus Enneapterygius (Blennioidei: Tripterygidae) in the western Indian Ocean, with descriptions of four new species. Smithiana, Bull. 5:1-25. (Ref. 57774)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 23.6 - 25.4, mean 24.9 °C (based on 40 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.0 ±0.3 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
