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.
Blenny is a common name for many types of fish, including several families of percomorph marine, brackish, and some freshwater fish sharing similar morphology and behaviour. Six families are considered "true blennies", grouped under the order Blenniiformes; its members are referred to as blenniiformids. About 151 genera and nearly 900 species have been described within the order. The order was formerly classified as a suborder of the Perciformes but 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.
The Lessepsian migration is the migration of marine species across the Suez Canal, usually from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and more rarely in the opposite direction. When the canal was completed in 1869, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other marine animals and plants were exposed to an artificial passage between the two naturally separate bodies of water, and cross-contamination was made possible between formerly isolated ecosystems. The phenomenon is still occurring today. It is named after Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French diplomat in charge of the canal's construction.
The freshwater blenny is a species of fish in the family Blenniidae. It is found in African rivers and brooks in Algeria and Morocco flowing to the Mediterranean Sea. In Europe it is widespread in the freshwaters of Albania, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Spain and Portugal, while in Asia it is in Turkey and Israel. This species reaches a length of 15 centimetres (5.9 in) TL. This taxon may be paraphyletic as the populations in Turkey and Israel are more genetically divergent from other populations of freshwater blenny than the Trichonis blenny, and the population in Kinneret Lake in Israel has been proposed as a new species.
Margaritifera auricularia is a species of European freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Margaritiferidae, the freshwater pearl mussels. Formerly found throughout western and central Europe, the species is now critically endangered and is one of the rarest invertebrates worldwide, being confined to a few rivers in Spain and France. M. auricularia is commonly known as Spengler's freshwater mussel in honour of Lorenz Spengler, who first described this species.
Salarias fasciatus, commonly known as the jewelled blenny or lawnmower blenny is a benthic, neritic, marine fish species endemic to Australasia. Despite being known as the lawnmower blenny, due to its propensity to consume algae growth in aquaria, it is principally a detritivore, with plant material making up only about 15% of its diet. The lawnmower blenny camoflauges with its surroundings, even changing color to hide itself from predators.
Salarias ramosus, the starry blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny from the Western Central Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. This species can reach a length of 14 centimetres (5.5 in) TL.
The Kirk's blenny is a species of combtooth blenny in the genus Alticus. It was described by A. Günther in 1964, originally as a member of the genus Salarias. It is a tropical blenny which is known from the Red Sea, Mozambique, Réunion, the Persian Gulf, and India, in the Indian ocean. Kirk's blennies inhabit waters near the shore, and often spend time out of the water. They are able to breathe air when on land. They are oviparous, and form distinct pairs when mating; they also guard their eggs.
Salaria basilisca is a species of combtooth blenny found in the Mediterranean Sea near Tunisia and Turkey, also in the Adriatic Sea. This species reaches a length of 18 centimetres (7.1 in) TL. It is found among seagrass, sometimes where there is a rocky substrate. The male guards the eggs produced by several females. They are protogynous hermaphrodites with individuals being females while young changing to males later.
Salaria pavo, the peacock blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in the eastern Atlantic coast from France to Morocco; also in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and the eastern Adriatic Sea. This species has colonised the northern Red Sea by anti-Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal. The peacock blenny reaches a length of 13 centimetres (5.1 in) TL.
Salarias alboguttatus, the whitespotted blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. This species reaches a length of 9 centimetres (3.5 in) TL.
Salarias ceramensis, the Seram blenny or Ceram blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in the western central Pacific ocean. This species reaches a length of 15 centimetres (5.9 in) TL.
Salarias guttatus, the breast-spot blenny or the blue-spot blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in the western Pacific Ocean. This species reaches a length of 10 centimetres (3.9 in) TL.
Salarias patzneri, Patzner's blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the western central Pacific ocean. This species can reach a length of 5.5 centimetres (2.2 in) TL. The specific name honours the Austrian ichthyologist Robert A. Patzner who worked on the genitalia of blennies and who shared specimens with Hans Bath.
Salarias sinuosus, known commonly as the fringelip blenny or the crinkle-lipped blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the Indian Ocean. This species reaches a length of 6 centimetres (2.4 in) TL.
Salarias nigrocinctus, the blackstreaked blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in the Pacific ocean, around Tonga.
Salarias obscurus is a species of combtooth blenny found in the western central Pacific ocean.
Salarias sexfilum is a species of combtooth blenny found in the western central Pacific ocean, particularly the shallow fringing reefs and tide pools of Australia and Indonesia.
Salariopsis atlantica is a species of combtooth blenny from the subfamily Salarinae, the largest of the two subfamilies in the Family Blenniidae. It is a freshwater species which is restricted to Ouerrha River which is part of the Sebou River basin, in Morocco. It is found in shallow, flowing streams with a stony substrate.
Salariopsis is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Blenniidae. It was formerly included in Salaria which now contains only marine species.
