Slimy fish

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Slimy fish
Sea butterfly (Blennius ocellaris)

Sea butterfly ( Blennius ocellaris )

Systematics
Acanthomorphata
Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Ovalentaria
Order : Blennioidei (Blenniiformes)
Family : Slimy fish
Scientific name
Blenniidae
Rafinesque , 1810

The slime fish (Blenniidae, Greek ἡ βλέννα and τό βλέννος , slime), also called blenniids , unscaled slime fish or naked slime fish, are a fish family from the subordination of the slime fish- like , which includes numerous bottom fish and crevasse inhabitants of the rocky coasts and tidal pools . Over 350 species in over 50 genera populate the coasts of all oceans, especially the tropical and subtropical zones, and occupy very different ecological niches , for example through different food specializations. Few species are also found in fresh and brackish water .

features

Slime fish are in most cases small fish, the largest species, Xiphasia setifer , reaches a maximum length of 53 cm. Most species stay below 15 cm. Their body is scaly, only a few species still have modified lateral line scales . The sideline is only clear at the beginning. The head is mostly blunt, the premaxillary not protractile (cannot be extended). Species-specific skin tentacles often sit on the forehead and over the eyes. The teeth on the jaws are small, pointed, fixed or movable and arranged in simple rows like a comb. Some genera have elongated canines that are provided with poison glands in the Meiacanthus genus . The palatine bone is toothless, teeth on the ploughshare may be present or absent. The pelvic fins sit throatily in front of the pectoral fin base. They have an inconspicuous sting and two to four segmented soft rays. The pelvic fins are absent in two species of Plagiotremus . The dorsal fin forms a long fin edge that takes up most of the back and is supported by three to 17 relatively flexible fin spines and nine to 119 articulated soft rays, the anal fin has two weak fin spines that have regressed in females. The pectoral fins of the slimy fish have 10 to 18 unbranched fin rays . The caudal fin is supported by branched or unbranched fin rays. The number of vertebrae is 28 to 44 (up to 135 in Xiphasia ). Slime fish are often beautifully colored.

A basic phenoid (skull bone) is always present except in the Nemophini . The swim bladder is usually no longer present in adult slime fish. Exceptions are the genera Phenablennius and Omox , as well as the tribe Nemophini, where a small, easily overlooked swim bladder occurs.

Way of life

Slime fish are bottom dwellers that are mainly found in rocky biotopes. Most species feed on algae and the macrozoobenthos they contain , some species are plankton eaters, and a few parasitically eat pieces of fins or skin from larger fish. Slime fish are substrate spawners ; the females lay their eggs in the males' burrows, where they are guarded by the male or both parents until the larvae hatch.

Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos
Jewel rockhopper ( Salarias fasciatus )

Internal system

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Xiphasia setifer on Fishbase.org (English)

Web links

Commons : Schleimfische  - Collection of images, videos and audio files