Enneapterygius ventermaculus

{{Speciesbox

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Holleman, W. |date=2014 |title=Enneapterygius ventermaculus |volume=2014 |page=e.T178958A1552597 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T178958A1552597.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}

| taxon = Enneapterygius ventermaculus

| authority = Holleman, 1982

| synonyms =

}}

Enneapterygius ventermaculus, the blotched triplefin or Pakistan triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Enneapterygius.{{FishBase|Enneapterygius|ventermaculus|month=April|year=2019}} It was described by Wouter Holleman in 1982.{{Cof record|spid=8626|title=Enneapterygius ventermaculus|access-date=21 May 2019}}

Description

The blotched triplefins are about 4 cm long. The males have black heads and yellow fins. The bodies are patterned with black and white blotches. There are 14 to 16 dorsal spines with 8 to 10 soft dorsal rays. There is an anal spine and 17 to 20 anal soft rays.

Distribution

The blotched triplefin is found in the Western Indian Ocean from the coast of Pakistan to the Durban region of South Africa.

Biology

Little information is available in the literature about this particular species of triplefin blenny. There are several other species in the family that give hints to their likely behavior and life style. Triplefin blennies are small, large-eyed fish that live in shallow coastal waters around the world. They are residents of rocky shore communities {{cite journal |date=1991 |doi=10.1007/BF00000695 |title=Bergmann ecogeographic trends among triplefin blennies (Teleostei: Tripterygiidae) in the Gulf of California, Mexico |journal=Environmental Biology of Fishes |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=301–305 |last1=Gilligan |first1=Matthew R. }}

Males are territorial and attract females to their home ranges. In two species, males have been observed to spawn parasitically on females in other males' territories {{cite journal |title="Male Parasitic Spawning in Two Species of Triplefin Blenny (Tripterigiidae): Contrasts in Demography, Behaviour and Gonadal Characteristics"FC Neat |date=2001 |journal= Environmental Biology of Fishes|volume=61 |pages=57–64 |doi=10.1023/A:1011074716758 |last1 = Neat|first1 = Francis C.}}

and it is possible this behavior will eventually be seen in the blotched triplefin as well.

References

ventermaculatus

Category:Taxa named by Wouter Holleman

Category:Fish described in 1982