Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Blenniiformes (Blennies) >
Blenniidae (Combtooth blennies) > Salariinae
Etymology: Medusablennius: Taken from Medusa, one of the three Gorgons, whose head with snakes turned him looked upon it into a stone + Greek, blennios = mucus (Ref. 45335); chani: Named for William L. Chan, the person who first noticed the distinctness of the species.
Eponymy: In Greek mythology, Medusa was a Gorgon whose hair was made up of living snakes. The name is used fancifully for taxa with numerous filaments or barbels. William L Chan was the first to notice the distinctness of this species (in a note in the jar containing the type specimens collected in 1955) which Springer examined (1963) at Stanford University’s George Vanderbilt Foundation collection. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; pelagic-neritic. Tropical
Eastern Central Pacific: Tuamotu Archipelago.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 1.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 86957)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 11 - 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 17 - 18; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 19. This species is distinguished by the following characters: no scales; 2 bones in the circumorbital ring, cirri on head numerous and complex; dorsal fin with more rays than spines; interopercle not extending posteriorly beyond its connection with the epihyal; ascending wing of the parasphenoid reaching the frontal; free dorsal margin to the upper lip; teeth restricted to a single series in each jaw, absent in vomer and palatines (Ref. 86957).
Oviparous. Eggs are demersal and adhesive (Ref. 205), and are attached to the substrate via a filamentous, adhesive pad or pedestal (Ref. 94114). Larvae are planktonic, often found in shallow, coastal waters (Ref. 94114).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Springer, V.G., 1966. Medusablennius chani, a new genus and species of blennioid fish from the Tuamotu Archipelago: its implication on blennioid classification. Copeia 1966(1):56-60. (Ref. 86957)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00776 (0.00356 - 0.01695), b=3.00 (2.81 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
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).
