Lipophrys pholis

Last updated

Shanny
Lipophrys pholis 1.jpg
Lipophrys pholis Netherlands.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Blenniiformes
Family: Blenniidae
Genus: Lipophrys
Species:
L. pholis
Binomial name
Lipophrys pholis
Synonyms   [2]
  • Blennius bufo(Lowe, 1843)
  • Blennius pholisLinnaeus, 1758
  • Lipophris pholis(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Pholis bufoLowe, 1843
  • Pholis carolinusValenciennes, 1836
  • Pholis laevisFleming, 1828

Lipophrys pholis, commonly known as shanny, also known as the smooth blenny or common blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny. [3] It matures at two years of age. [3] Distributed in the Eastern Atlantic from the southern Norway to Morocco and Madeira, including the Mediterranean and the Balearics. [4] Lipophrys pholis feed primarily on crustaceans, but also feed on other invertebrates and plants. [3]

Contents

Description

Lipophrys pholis has an elongated body which measures up to 16 centimetres (6.3 in) in length. It is the typical blenny shape having an elongated body and a rather large and blunt head with relatively large eyes set high on its head and as they age the grow a fleshy ridge on the forehead. [5] The background colour is brownish, marked with green or yellow spots and they have dark spots arranged in 5-6 vertical bars along the body with a single large black spot near the origin of the dorsal fin. [6] The background colour can vary depending on the surrounding habitat and individuals vary from blotched, dark brown to blackish. [5] The males change in colour to being all black with a contrasting white mouth and a pale blue margin to the dorsal fin when in breeding condition. [7]

Distribution

Lipophrys pholis has a wide distribution in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and the western Mediterranean. It extends from Norway to Morocco and Madeira and in to the Mediterranean as far east as the Balearic Islands. [1] It is very common around the coasts of Britain and Ireland. [5]

Habitat and biology

The shanny is an intertidal species which displays homing behavior and which occurs along rocky coasts in shallow waters. This species can stay out of water sheltering under rocks or seaweeds. It is largely diurnal at high tide and it can breathe air when exposed by the ebbing tide. [4] They prefer to remain in rockpools at low tide and will only shelter in crevices or under boulders if they cannot return to a favoured pool. [8] Its food consists of small benthic invertebrates, especially snails, barnacles and amphipods, as well as some algae. Less important in its diet are crabs, polychaetes, isopods, copepods, limpets, mussels and other small molluscs. [4]

This species is oviparous: the female laying eggs which are 1.5 mm in diameter. The eggs are demersal and adhere to the substrate. Spawning occurs in the warmer months of April to August. The male and female mate in pairs, the male mates with several females and guards all of their eggs. [4] Each female spawns three times in a season. [6] The eggs are laid under rocks in the intertidal zone [8] and the larvae are young can be common on shorelines in the autumn. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combtooth blenny</span> Family of fishes

Combtooth blennies are blenniiformids; percomorph marine fish of the family Blenniidae, part of the order Blenniiformes. They are the largest family of blennies with around 401 known species in 58 genera. Combtooth blennies are found in tropical and subtropical waters in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans; some species are also found in brackish and even freshwater environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinidae</span> Family of fishes

Clinidae is a family of marine fish in the order Blenniiformes within the series Ovalentaria, part of the Percomorpha. Temperate blennies, the family ranges from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, in both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. The family contains about 86 species in 20 genera, the 60-cm-long giant kelpfish being the largest; most are far smaller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tompot blenny</span> Species of fish

The tompot blenny is a species of combtooth blenny from the north eastern Atlantic Ocean which is found in shallow, coastal waters off western Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common ling</span> Species of fish

The common ling, also known as the white ling or simply the ling, is a large member of the family Lotidae, a group of cod-like fishes. It resembles the related rocklings, but it is much larger and has a single barbel. This species is unrelated to the pink ling, Genypterus blacodes, from the Southern Hemisphere. The common ling is found in the northern Atlantic, mainly off Europe, and into the Mediterranean Basin. It is an important quarry species for fisheries, especially in the northeastern Atlantic, although some doubts exist as the sustainability of the fisheries. As an edible species, it is eaten fresh, frozen, or dried, but also preserved in lye, while the roe is a delicacy in Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey triggerfish</span> Species of fish

The grey triggerfish or gray triggerfish, is a ray-finned fish in the triggerfish family. The species is native to shallow parts of the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Argentina and also the eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and off Angola on the west coast of Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater amberjack</span> Species of fish

The greater amberjack, also known as the allied kingfish, great amberfish, greater yellowtail, jenny lind, Sea donkey, purplish amberjack, reef donkey, rock salmon, sailors choice, yellowtail, and yellow trevally, is a species of predatory ray-finned fish in the family Carangidae, the jacks and pompanos. It is found in temperate, subtropical, and tropical seas around the world. It is a popular quarry species for recreational fisheries and is important in commercial fisheries. It is the largest species in the family Carangidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal fish</span> Fish that inhabit the sea between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf

Coastal fish, also called inshore fish or neritic fish, inhabit the sea between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf. Since the continental shelf is usually less than 200 metres (660 ft) deep, it follows that pelagic coastal fish are generally epipelagic fish, inhabiting the sunlit epipelagic zone. Coastal fish can be contrasted with oceanic fish or offshore fish, which inhabit the deep seas beyond the continental shelves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornate wrasse</span> Species of fish

The ornate wrasse is a species of wrasse native to the rocky coasts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. This species is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries, is also popular as a game fish, and can be found in the aquarium trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common dragonet</span> Species of fish

The common dragonet is a species of dragonet which is widely distributed in the eastern North Atlantic where it is common near Europe from Norway and Iceland southwards. It is a demersal species that occurs over sand bottoms. It lives to a maximum age of around seven years. It is caught in bycatch by fisheries and is used in the aquarium trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montagu's blenny</span> Species of fish

Montagu's blenny, also known as the capuchin blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in the intertidal zones of the eastern Atlantic ocean from England to Madeira and the Canary Islands as well the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. This species prefers rocky shores with much wave action. This species grows to a length of 7.6 centimetres (3.0 in) SL. It is the only species in the genus Coryphoblennius.

<i>Lipophrys</i> Genus of fishes

Lipophrys is a small genus of combtooth blennies found in Atlantic ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of 57 genera in the family Blenniidae. The generic name is made up of the Greek words lipo meaning "want" or "absence" and phrys meaning "eyebrow" referring to the lack of any cirri over the eyes in the type species L. pholis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaweed blenny</span> Species of fish

The seaweed blenny is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the western Atlantic Ocean along the coasts of New York, Bermuda, the Bahamas, also in the Gulf of Mexico, south to southern Brazil. This species reaches a length of 8.5 centimetres (3.3 in) TL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portuguese blenny</span> Species of fish

The Portuguese blenny, also known as the red blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in the eastern Atlantic ocean off western Europe and Macaronesia.

<i>Clinitrachus argentatus</i> Species of fish

Clinitrachus argentatus, the Cline, is a species of clinid found in shallow waters of the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. This species feeds primarily on benthic invertebrates. This species is currently the only known member of its genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-faced blenny</span> Species of fish

The black-faced blenny is a small benthic fish from the family Tripterygiidae (triplefin-blennies). It occurs at depths of 3 to 40 metres and lives on the substrate under large rocks, cliffs or other overhangs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red gurnard</span> Species of fish

The red gurnard, also known as the East Atlantic red gurnard or soldier, is a benthic species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. This fish is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock gunnel</span> Species of fish

The rock gunnel, or butterfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Pholidae, the gunnels. This species is found in the coastal waters of the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Atlantic part of the Arctic Ocean.

<i>Spicara maena</i> Species of fish

Spicara maena, the blotched picarel, is a species of ray-finned fish native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. The male grows to a maximum length of about 25 cm (10 in), and the female reaches 21 cm (8 in). This fish is fished commercially in some areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crescent gunnel</span> Species of fish

The crescent gunnel, also known as the bracketed blenny, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Pholidae, the gunnels. This fish occurs in the shallow coastal waters of the eastern North Pacific Ocean.

The radiated shanny is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks and shannies. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Ulvaria. This fish is found in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.

References

  1. 1 2 Williams, J.T.; Craig, M.T. (2014). "Lipophrys pholis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T185180A1777432. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T185180A1777432.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. Nicolas Bailly (2009). Nicolas Bailly (ed.). "Lipophrys pholis (Linnaeus, 1758)". World Database of Marine Pisces. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 S. Z. Qasim (1965). "The biology of Blennius pholis L. (Teleostei)". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London . 128 (2): 161–208. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1957.tb00264.x.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Lipophrys pholis" in FishBase . April 2019 version.
  5. 1 2 3 Mayhew, E.M. (2008). Tyler-Walters H.; Hiscock K. (eds.). "Lipophrys pholis Shanny". Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth. Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  6. 1 2 J.C. Hureau (ed.). "Shanny (Lipophrys pholis)". Fishes of the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  7. 1 2 "Blenny". British Marine Life Study Society. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Common Blenny". British Sea Fishing. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2019.