Oblique-swimming triplefin

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Oblique-swimming triplefin
Forsterygion maryannae.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Blenniiformes
Family: Tripterygiidae
Genus: Forsterygion
Species:
F. maryannae
Binomial name
Forsterygion maryannae
(Hardy, 1987)
Synonyms [2]
  • Obliquichthys maryannaeHardy, 1987

The oblique-swimming triplefin, Forsterygion maryannae, is a triplefin, found along the north east coast of the North Island of New Zealand from depths of about 5 m to 50 m. They are the only triplefins not to spend most of their time resting on the bottom, instead swimming in loose schools of up to hundreds of individuals above rocky reefs. When swimming their head is higher than the tail, giving rise to their common name.

Its length is between 5 and 8 cm. The body is orange-brown with a red tinged head, a black eye, and a wide black lengthwise stripe on each flank. Oblique-swimming triplefins are plankton feeders taking their tiny copepod and euphausid crustacean food in mid-water.

Its specific name honours the underwater photographer Maryann W. Williams. [3]

Related Research Articles

Spectacled triplefin Species of fish

The spectacled triplefin, Ruanoho whero, is a triplefin in the genus Ruanoho. It is commonly found around New Zealand from depths of a few metres to about 30 m, most common in reef areas of broken rock. Its length is between 4 and 8 cm and its head is flattened with large eyes surrounded by a dark band giving rise to its common name. The head and fins have a pattern of fine blue lines. Its large pectoral fins are used as props when resting on the bottom where it spends most of its time.

Yellow-and-black triplefin Species of fish

The yellow-and-black triplefin, Forsterygion flavonigrum, a triplefin of the genus Forsterygion, is found around the north of the North Island of New Zealand at depths of between 15 and 30 m, in reef areas of broken rock. Its length is between 4 and 7 cm.

Yaldwyns triplefin Species of fish

Yaldwyn's triplefin, Notoclinops yaldwyni, is a fish of the genus Notoclinops, found around the North Island of New Zealand from low water to depths of about 5 metres, most common in reef areas of broken rock, but nowhere common. Its length is between 4 and 8 centimetres. It is a pale yellow-brown with a faint orange tinge to the head, and two or three rows of small black dots on the flanks.

The scaly-headed triplefin, Karalepis stewarti, is a triplefin, the only species in the genus Karalepis. It is endemic to New Zealand where it is found around North Island, South Island, the Three Kings Islands, Snares Island and Stewart Island. It is a nocturnal species It occurs at depths of about 5 to 30 metres, in reef areas of broken rock. The specific name honours Andy Stewart of the Department of Fishes at the National Museum of New Zealand.

The mottled triplefin, Forsterygion malcolmi, is a triplefin of the genus Forsterygion, found around New Zealand at depths down to 30 m, in reef areas of broken rock. Its specific name honours Malcolm Francis of the Fisheries Research Centre in Wellington, New Zealand, who joined Hardy on his trips to collect specimens.

<i>Bellapiscis lesleyae</i> Species of fish

Bellapiscis lesleyae, the mottled twister, is a triplefin of the family Tripterygiidae, commonly found around the coast of New Zealand in rock pools and down to depths of about 5 m in reef areas of broken rock. Its length is up to 6 cm. The specific name of this blenny honours the New Zealand marine biologist Lesley Bolton who helped Hardy collect fishes in rockpools on the coast of New Zealand, including the type of this species.

The cryptic triplefin, Cryptichthys jojettae, is a triplefin of the family Tripterygiidae, the only member of the genus Cryptichthys, found around the coast of New Zealand. It length is up to 6 cm. The specific name honours a former staff member at the National Museum of New Zealand, Jorjette Drost, who participated in collecting specimens with Hardy.

<i>Forsterygion</i> Genus of fishes

Forsterygion is a genus of triplefins in the family Tripterygiidae native to coastal New Zealand, but also introduced to Tasmania, Australia.

Ceratobregma helenae, known commonly as the Helen's triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny. It has an Indo-Pacific distribution from Christmas Island to Samoa, north to Taiwan and south to south eastern Australia. The species is named after Wouter Holleman's wife, Helen.

Enneanectes boehlkei, known commonly as the roughhead triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny. This species occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean from the Bahamas west into the Gulf of Mexico, including the Florida Keys to Tuxpan, Mexico and throughout the Caribbean, it is absent from most of Cuba except the north west, and off the northern South American coast its range extends from Cartagena, Colombia to the Orinoco River in Venezuela. The specific name honours the American ichthyologist James Erwin Böhlke (1930-1982) of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.

The yellow triplefin ,> also known as the Abel's triplefin in South Africa, is a species of triplefin in the genus Enneapterygius. Males in this species can reach a maximum length of 2.5 centimetres. The blennies are generally bright yellow in colour, and males have black heads. They feed mostly on benthic invertebrates.

Enneapterygius larsonae, known commonly as the Western Australian black-head triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Enneapterygius. It was described by the German ichthyologist Ronald Fricke in 1994. The specific name honours Helen K. Larson, the Curator of Fishes at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin, Australia, who collected the type.

<i>Enneapterygius mirabilis</i> Species of fish

Enneapterygius mirabilis, the miracle triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Enneapterygius. It was described by Ronald Fricke in 1994 who gave it the specific name mirabilis, meaning "admirable", because its notable large pectoral fins and first dorsal fin were pretty.

Enneapterygius randalli, the Rapa triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Enneapterygius. It was described by Ronald Fricke in 1997. who honoured the American ichthyologist John Ernest Randall in its specific name, Randall collected many of the type series. This species is known only from French Polynesia where it is found off Rapa Iti and Marotiri in the southern Austral Islands.

Enneapterygius williamsi, known commonly as the William's triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Enneapterygius. It was described by Ronald Fricke in 1997. Its specific name honours the collector of the type, the ichthyologist Jeffrey T. Williams of the Smithsonian Institution.

Red triplefin Species of fish

Helcogramma steinitzi, known commonly as the red triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Helcogramma. It was described by Eugenie Clark in 1980. The specific name honours the marine biologist and herpetologist Heinz Steinitz (1909-1971) of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. This species occurs in the north western Indian Ocean from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf.

Norfolkia leeuwin, known commonly as the Leeuwin triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Norfolkia. It was described by Ronald Fricke in 1994. This species is found in the southern part of the coast of Western Australia from the Houtmon's Abrolhos Islands to the Recherche Archipelago. It is found in rocky reefs. Its specific name references the Leeuwin Current which influences the coastal areas in which this fish occurs.

Scalyhead triplefin Species of fish

Norfolkia squamiceps, known commonly as the Scalyhead triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Norfolkia. It was described by Allan Riverstone McCulloch and Edgar Ravenswood Waite in 1916. Under the synonym Norfolkia lairdi it was the type species of Fowler's new genus. This species has been recorded from off Queensland, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands. The adults occur in tidal pools among areas of coral reef.

Norfolkia thomasi, known commonly as the Thomas' triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Norfolkia. It was described by Gilbert Percy Whitley in 1964, naming it in honour of Leonard Rees Thomas who organised the Australian Museum's 1962 Swain Reefs Expedition. The hemispherical eggs of the Thomas' triplefin are covered in sticky threads that help anchor them in the algae on their nesting sites. This adaption helps insure the safety of the eggs. One the eggs hatch the larvae that emerge are planktonic and they stick to shallow waters near the shore. The matured Thomas' triplefin then ventures out into the coral reef and intertidal pools. This species is found in the western Pacific Ocean from the Ryukyu Islands to the Tuamoto Archipelago, in Australia it is distributed from the northern Great Barrier Reef south to Byron Bay, New South Wales.

Springerichthys kulbickii, known commonly as the Kulbicki's triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Springerichthys. It was described by Ronald Fricke and John E. Randall in 1994, honouring the fish ecologist reef-fish ecologist Michel L. Kulbicki of L'Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique d’Outre-Mer in Nouméa, who collected type in New Caledonia, in its specific name. Kulbicki's triplefin is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean from Queensland, Australia across the central Pacific to the Samoa, where it is found on rocky and coral reefs down to 15 metres (49 ft) in depth.

References

  1. Clements, K.D. (2014). "Forsterygion maryannae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T178969A1553799. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T178969A1553799.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Forsterygion maryannae" in FishBase. April 2019 version.
  3. Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara (29 January 2019). "Order BLENNIIFORMES: Families TRIPTERYGIIDAE and DACTYLOSCOPIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 22 May 2019.