Teleostei (teleosts) >
Blenniiformes (Blennies) >
Blenniidae (Combtooth blennies) > Salariinae
Etymology: Cirripectes: Latin, cirrus = curl fringe + Greek, pektos, -e, -on = made of several parts solidly united (Ref. 45335); matatakaro: Name from i-Kiribati words ‘‘mata’’ (eye) and ‘‘takaro’’ (ember/burning coal), referring to the large, eager-seeming eyes and the red slashes on the face resembling to smoldering embers or burning coals. Named in the i-Kiribati language to honor the people and culture of Kiribati, where the first author first encountered and collected the new species..
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 10 - 32 m (Ref. 123088). Tropical
Central Pacific: Marquesas, Gambier, Pitcairns, Tuamotus, and Austral Is., and the Northern Line Islands and possibly Johnston Atoll, south of Hawai‘i.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 5.8 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 123088); 6.4 cm SL (female)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 15; Vertebrae: 30. This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following set of characters: male genital papilla with two widely separated slender filaments to either side of the gonopore, type I sensu Williams (1988); nuchal cirri is divided into two, rarely three or four, groups always slightly separated dorsally on nape with bases swollen beneath ventralmost cirri on either side; overall shape of the transverse row of nuchal cirri modally type I and sometimes type II (types C and G sensu Williams), with 32-38 independently based cirri; dorsal separation in row of nuchal cirri 0.1-0.7 mm (median width 0.3 mm); where interrupted laterally, lateral breaks in the row of nuchal cirri 0-0.4 mm in width (median width 0 mm); sensory pore structure is directly posterior to lateral center of row of nuchal cirri type I, posterior and parallel to row of nuchal cirri, does not visibly penetrate through break (where present); 0-6 distinct LLT. Colouration: when alive, head commonly bright reddish orange on upper section with bright red spots and/or slashes extending dorsally and posteriorly from the snout and the outer ring of iris bright orange-red (Ref. 123088).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Hoban, M.L. and J.T. Williams, 2020. Cirripectes matatakaro, a new species of combtooth blenny from the Central Pacific, illuminates the origins of the Hawaiian fish fauna. PeerJ 8(e8852):1-27. (Ref. 123088)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = No PD50 data [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
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).
