Pacific leaping blenny

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Pacific leaping blenny
A leaping blenny jumping
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Blenniiformes
Family: Blenniidae
Genus: Alticus
Species:
A. arnoldorum
Binomial name
Alticus arnoldorum
(Curtiss, 1938) [2]
Synonyms [3] [4]
  • Blennius arnoldorumCurtiss, 1938

The Pacific leaping blenny (Alticus arnoldorum), also known as the leaping rockskipper, [5] is a species of combtooth blenny (family Blenniidae) in the genus Alticus . The blennies are oviparous, and form distinct pairs when mating. [6] Males can reach a maximum total length of 8 centimetres (3.15 inches). [2] [7] These fish feed primarily on benthic algae, [8] which they consume by scraping off rocky surfaces. [9]

Contents

Description

Male Pacific leaping blennies have prominent head crests and orange-red dorsal fins. [10]

Distribution and habitat

The Pacific leaping blenny is a tropical blenny found in reefs in Samoa and the Marianas, Society, and Cook Islands, in the western and southern Pacific Ocean. [2] The blennies are noted for leaping from hole to hole in the limestone rocks they inhabit, when disturbed; [2] each of the common names for the species is derived from this. They are able to dwell on land for several hours at a time, and have been reported performing many activities, including foraging and mating while out of the water. However, they are only able to survive on land during midtide; if they remain out of water when the tide lowers enough that they cannot be kept moist, they dry out and suffocate. [11] In a study performed by Tonia Hsieh of Temple University, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it was discovered that members of A. arnoldorum are able to thrive on land due to their ability to twist their tails axially at 90 degrees, to propel their bodies. Hsieh noted that the twisting of the tail was a behaviourism unique to A. arnoldorum and species in the genus Andamia ; the two genera were subsequently considered terrestrial. [9]

Name

The identity of the person commemorated in the specific name of this blenny is unclear. The author, Curtiss, is known to have read The Sea-Beach at Ebb-Tide: A Guide to the Study of the Seaweeds and the Lower Animal Life Found Between Tidemarks by Augusta Foote Arnold (1844-1903) and gave several taxa a similar epithet. [12]

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

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Dodekablennos fraseri is a species of combtooth blenny found in the western Indian Ocean, around Réunion and Mauritius. This species is a resident of tide pools where it can be found at depths of from 0 to 2 metres. This species is the only known member of its genus. Its specific name honours Thomas H. Fraser of the Mote Marine Laboratory who collected the type.

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<i>Omobranchus germaini</i> Species of fish

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<i>Plagiotremus goslinei</i> Species of fish

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<i>Salarias patzneri</i> Species of fish

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Ecsenius collettei, known commonly as the Collete's blenny in Papua New Guinea, is a species of combtooth blenny in the genus Ecsenius. It is found in coral reefs in the western central Pacific ocean, specifically in Papua New Guinea. It can reach a maximum length of 5 centimetres. The blennies feed primarily off of plants, and benthic algae and weeds. he specific name honours Bruce B. Collette the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service Systematics Laboratory, whose collection of fish specimens from New Guinea contained a number important blenniid specimens, one of which was this species.

Xiphasia matsubarai, the Japanese snake blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in the western Pacific and Indian oceans just extending into the Atlantic Ocean in False Bay, South Africa. This species can be found at depths ranging from the surface to 4,960 m (16,270 ft). This species reaches 30 cm (12 in) in SL. This species feeds primarily on bony fish, rising to the surface at night to feed. It can also be found in the aquarium trade.

Coralliozetus rosenblatti, the spikefin blenny, is a species of chaenopsid blenny found in coral reefs in the eastern central Pacific ocean. It can reach a maximum length of 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) TL. This species feeds primarily on zooplankton. The specific name honours the ichthyologist Richard H. Rosenblatt (1930-2014) of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

References

  1. Williams, J.T. (2014). "Alticus arnoldorum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T48321090A48364734. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T48321090A48364734.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Alticus arnoldorum at www.fishbase.org.
  3. Synonyms of Alticus arnoldorum at www.fishbase.org.
  4. Curtiss, A., 1938 [ref. 18057] A short zoology of Tahiti in the Society islands. Guide Printing Company, Inc., Brooklyn, New York. i-xvi + 1-193.
  5. Common names for Alticus arnoldorum at www.fishbase.org.
  6. Reproduction of Alticus arnoldorum at www.fishbase.org.
  7. Alticus arnoldorum at www.fishwise.co.za.
  8. Food items reported for Alticus arnoldorum at www.fishbase.org.
  9. 1 2 "Pacific leaping blenny now considered a terrestrial species" Archived 2013-12-24 at the Wayback Machine www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
  10. Morgans, CL; Cooke, GM; Ord, TJ (6 May 2014). "How populations differentiate despite gene flow: sexual and natural selection drive phenotypic divergence within a land fish, the Pacific leaping blenny". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 14 (97): 97. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-14-97 . PMC   4055934 . PMID   24884492.
  11. Pictures: "Walking" Fish a Model of Evolution in Action. Christine Dell'Amore, September 1st, 2011. National Geographic News.
  12. Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara (26 October 2018). "Order BLENNIIFORMES: Family BLENNIIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 24 February 2019.