Blennies (from the Greek and , mucus, slime) are a diverse clade of ray-finned fish in the suborder Blennioidei of the percomorph order Blenniiformes. They inhabit marine, brackish, and occasionally freshwater habitats, and generally share similar morphology and behaviour. About 151 genera and nearly 900 species have been described within the order.

Taxonomy

The order was formerly classified as a suborder of the Perciformes. However, the 5th Edition of Fishes of the World divided the Perciformes into a number of new orders and the Blenniiformes were placed in the percomorph clade Ovalentaria alongside the such taxa as Cichliformes, Mugiliformes and Gobiesociformes. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes added many more taxa, including the damselfishes and clingfishes, into the Blenniiformes, so the "true blennies" were redefined as the suborder Blennioidei.

The six "true blenny" families are:

  • Blenniidae <small>Rafinesque, 1810</small> - combtooth blennies, including the sabre-toothed blennies
  • Chaenopsidae <small>Gill, 1865</small> - pikeblennies, tubeblennies and flagblennies
  • Clinidae <small>Swainson, 1839</small> - clinids, including the giant kelpfish
  • Dactyloscopidae <small>Gill, 1859</small> - sand stargazers
  • Labrisomidae <small>Clark Hubbs, 1952</small>
  • Tripterygiidae <small>Whitley, 1931</small> - threefin blennies

The earliest known blennoid fossil is the otolith-based species Exallias vectensis from the Early Eocene of France. However, skeletal remains of blennies only appear in the fossil record during the Miocene.

Similarities with other families

The blennioids are superficially quite similar to members of the goby and dragonet families, as well as several other unrelated families whose members have occasionally been given the name "blenny". Many blennies demonstrate mimicry of other species, such as Aspidontus taeniatus. This mimicry allows the blenny to get up close to fish that would normally let Labroides dimidiatus (the bluestreak cleaner wrasse), clean them. The blenny then takes nips or larger bites out of the unsuspecting fish. There are two genera of blennies that demonstrate Batesian mimicry - Ecsenius and Plagiotremus.

As far as predation, blennies depend on a secretive lifestyle, hiding on the sea floors in shallow water, with cryptic coloration. They have venom that contains the opioid-like enkephalin, phospholipase, and neuropeptide Y.

Distribution

True blennies are widely distributed in coastal waters, often abundant and easily observed which has made them the subject for many studies of ecology and behaviour. Two of the families, the Blennidae and the Tripterygiidae have global distributions, the Clinidae have a mainly temperate distribution and the remaining three families are largely Neotropical. This distribution makes these fish ideal subjects for studies of biogeography. It is thought that the splitting of the Tethys Sea by the formation of the Isthmus of Panama combined with Pliocene warming of the climate may have been important factors influencing the evolution and biogeography of the Blenniiformes.

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File:Salarias sinuosus (Fringelip blenny).jpg|Salarias sinuosus, the fringelip blenny

File:Blenny hiding in a hole near Gilli Lawa Laut, Indonesia.JPG|Blenny hiding in a hole near Gilli Lawa Laut, Indonesia

File:Ugly dude.jpg|Tasmanian blenny in Port Noarlunga, South Australia

File:Blenny in kona 1.jpg|Blenny in Kona, Hawaii

File:Blenny.jpg|Blenny in Kona, Hawaii

File:Blenny in Kona 2008 4.jpg|Blenny in Kona, Hawaii

File:Blenny Hawaii.jpg|Blenny in Kona, Hawaii

File:BulletHead RockSkipper BIGBROW BLENNIELLA.jpg|Bullethead rockskipper in Kona

File:Marbled Blenny Entomacrodus marmoratus.jpg|Marbled blenny, Entomacrodus marmoratus in Kona

</gallery>

References

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