Ophioblennius atlanticus

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Ophioblennius atlanticus

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Blenniiformes
Family: Blenniidae
Genus: Ophioblennius
Species:
O. atlanticus
Binomial name
Ophioblennius atlanticus
Synonyms
  • Salarias atlanticus Valenciennes, 1836
  • Blennius atlanticus (Valenciennes, 1836)
  • Cynoscartes atlanticus (Valenciennes, 1836)
  • Rupiscartes atlanticus (Valenciennes, 1836)
  • Scartichthys atlanticus (Valenciennes, 1836)
  • Blennophis webbii Valenciennes, 1843
  • Ophioblennius webbii (Valenciennes, 1843)
Ophioblennius atlanticus

Ophioblennius atlanticus, also known as the redlip blenny and the horseface blenny, is a

benthic.[3]
The adults may reach up to four inches in length when fully grown, and they have large reddish lips, from which they attained their names. Redlip blennies largely feed on algae.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by French zoologist Achille Valenciennes in 1836.[4] Ophis is Greek for "serpent", and blennios is Greek for "mucus". The species name atlanticus is the name for its location of capture. The common name, redlip, refers to the reddish color of its lips.

Description

Adult redlip blennies can reach two to four inches in length. They are chocolate brown in appearance with some yellow markings, and possess blunt heads featuring four branching horns, and large reddish lips. A variation on the species is a paler form, having a shell-white body and reddish brown head.

Distribution and habitat

Ophioblennius atlanticus is native to the tropical marine environments of the central

benthic
.

Aquaculture

These fish occasionally make their way into the pet trade. They require a minimum of 30 gallons, and being generally peaceful are suitable for

community tanks, as long as no other fish have a similar body shape. However they do well in mated pairs. They should be kept at temperatures of 22–26 °C (72–78 °F), with a PH level of 8.1–8.4. They have a jumping ability which allows them to jump from tide pool to tide pool in the wild. This means that if they are to be housed in an aquarium a lid is necessary. The horseface blenny feeds primarily on algae, but also consumes zooplankton and other invertebrates. They possess two razor-sharp canine teeth, which has earned them the nickname of "devil fish" in some countries.[7]

Behavior

Reproduction

Redlip blennies

planktonic larvae.[10] The egg batches in one nest may be at different developmental stages because the male redlip blenny is polygynous, mating with multiple females. In other words, the eggs have different mothers. Female redlip blennies tend to be polyandrous as well, meaning that there are multiple nests with one female's eggs.[10]

The female mate choice primarily relies on a male's genetic quality or its non-genetic quality. A male is recognized to have good genes, if it has physical features that are suitable for survival. Usually, big body size indicates good genetic quality. Mating with a male of good genetic quality assures that the offspring will also have good genes and thus the physical features favorable for survival. This eventually will propagate the female's own genes.[11] The non-genetic quality includes many examples, such as good parental care. Good parental care does not guarantee good genes for the offspring. However, good parental care can increase the survival rate of the offspring, thereby spreading the female's genes.[12]

Female redlip blennies consider both the genetic and non-genetic quality of the male. First of all, they choose males largely based on their sizes (genetic quality). Larger males can better protect the female and the eggs against predators. Furthermore, larger male redlip blennies have larger

microbial infection in the eggs.[13] Female redlip blennies also consider males' allopaternal care when choosing mates (non-genetic quality). Allopaternal care proves to the female that the male is capable of protecting the eggs from predators.[14] Finally, a statistical study showed that female redlip blennies may prefer older males because the age of the male could reflect his survival ability and thus guarantee the offspring better fitness (chance of survival).[15]

Parental care

Most parental care in fish is paternal care, where the male primarily gives care to the

spawning.[13] The male redlip blenny has an organ at the anal-urogenital region that produces antimicrobial substances. This organ only exists in males due to sexual dimorphism.[17] Therefore, by rubbing the anal-urogenital region over the nest's internal surface, the male protects its eggs from microbial infections, one of the most common causes for mortality in young fish. Larger males have larger organs at their anal-urogenital regions and thus can provide better antimicrobial protection for the eggs than smaller males. Consequently, female redlip blennies choose their mates based on their size.[18]

Another atypical paternal care in redlip blennies is that the male indiscriminately cares for its own eggs and foreign eggs. When a male takes over the deserted nest, he will guard and care for the existing eggs in the nest, even though they are not his own eggs. This is called

genetically unrelated offspring. However, exhibiting allopaternal care actually attracts more females because the existence of safe eggs in the nest proves the male's capacity to protect the eggs against predators. The allopaternal behavior also shows to female that the male is a trustworthy mate who will remain after mating and provide the eggs with a good amount of parental investment, thereby increasing the fitness of the offspring.[19]

Territoriality

territoriality, the redlip blennies that have lost their territories experience a great difficulty in finding a new territory. Empty territories are often shared by neighboring fish without much competition.[22] Despite severe territoriality, during the periods of lower adult blenny density, many blennies gather up and fight against old residents to take over their territories. After such aggressive competition, each old resident usually ends up with only half of its previous territory.[21]

Larval swimming

Many fish have a

lipids in their liver, and this high lipid concentration provides buoyancy.[23] The larvae keeps its high lipid concentration until maturation. Later, as the larvae go through metamorphosis, it burns down all the stored lipids to support the high metabolism of metamorphosis. After losing its lipids through metamorphosis, the now-grown-up redlip blenny does not restore lipids, which provides a permanent high density body to the adult fish.[23]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T185129A1769289.en
    . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ Baily, N. (2012). Bailly N (ed.). "Ophioblennius atlanticus (Valenciennes, 1836)". FishBase. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  3. ^ Humann, P. (1989). Reef Fish Identification — Florida Caribbean Bahamas. Jacksonville, Florida: New World Publications, Inc., Paramount Miller Graphics, Inc.
  4. ^ "Ophioblennius atlanticus". World Register of Marine Species.
  5. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Ophioblennius atlanticus" in FishBase. February 2019 version.
  6. ^ Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea (Ophioblennius atlanticus). 2nd Edition. 2021. 366p. CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monaco.https://ciesm.org/atlas/fishes_2nd_edition/Ophioblennius_atlanticus.pdf
  7. ^ "Horseface Blenny: Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums".
  8. ^
    S2CID 26173854
    .
  9. ^ Cote, IM (1987). Mate choice and spawning periodicity in the redlip blenny (Pisces: Blenniidae) (MSc thesis). University of Alberta.
  10. ^
    doi:10.1139/z83-042
    .
  11. ^ Dawkins, Richard (1976). The Selfish Gene. Oxford University Press.
  12. S2CID 53271370
    .
  13. ^
    PMID 17148395
    .
  14. ^
    doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.1995.tb01904.x
    .
  15. S2CID 53149597
    .
  16. ^ Clutton-Brock, T.H. (1991). The evolution of parental care. Princeton University Press.
  17. ^ Zander, C.D. (1975). "Secondary sex characteristics of blennioid fishes (Perciformes)". Pubblicazioni della Stazione Zoologica di Napoli. 39 (Supplement): 717–727.
  18. S2CID 86593294
    .
  19. S2CID 53180470
    .
  20. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2016). "Ophioblennius atlanticus" in FishBase. January 2016 version.
  21. ^
    S2CID 24046298
    .
  22. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1977.tb04156.x
    .
  23. ^
    JSTOR 1445488
    .
  • DeLoach, N. Reef fish behavior. New World Publications Inc. Jacksonville (FL). 358 p.
  • Bath, H. 1990 Blenniidae. p. 905-915. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.

External links
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