
Muzzled blenny Muzzled blenny
Family : Blenniidae (Combtooth blennies)
Order : Perciformes (perch-likes)
Class : Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Fishbase Name : Muzzled blenny
Fish Name : Omobranchus punctatus
Max size : 9.5 cm SL (male/unsexed; Ref. 4404); max. reported age: 4 years
Environment : reef-associated
Climate : tropical; 35°N - 37°S
Global Importance : fisheries: of no interest
Resilience: Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tmax=4)
Distribution : Indo-Pacific: Persian Gulf to Fiji and north to Japan. Known from Delagoa Bay, Mozambique and Suez Canal on the African coast. Western Atlantic: introduced at Trinidad and Panama Canal near Atlantic end (Ref. 26938).
Diagnosis : Dorsal spines (total): 11-13; Dorsal soft rays (total): 19-24; Anal spines: 2-2; Anal soft rays: 20-26. Head without cirri and crest. Lower end of gill opening opposite upper margin of pectoral fin. Sensory pores in infraorbital and interorbital canals mostly 8 and 3 respectively. Lateral line usually 7 to 11. Horizontal stripes on body distinct in male, but somewhat obscure in female.
Biology : Occur in coastal and brackish waters among rocks and mangroves (Ref. 9710). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs are demersal and adhesive (Ref. 205). Highly tolerant to adverse environmental conditions, self-reproducing population living between rocks in natural oil seeps in Venezuela (Ref. 56126)
Threatened : Dangerous:
Dangerous : harmless
Coordinator : Williams, Jeffrey T.
Main Ref : Springer, V.G.. 1986. (Ref. 4404)
India country information
Common Names : Muzzled blenny
Status : native
Salinity : brackish, marine
Uses : no uses
