Lined Combtooth Blenny

Description

A combtooth blenny with a greyish back and a white lower half, and a broad dark brown to black stripe along the head and body (sometimes made up of rectangular blotches), bordered by a bright yellow stripe. Anterior nostril with a long cirrus on posterior margin only. A longitudinal dark stripe on body often interrupted in larger specimens. In some populations, the black lateral stripe is sometimes present as a series of blotches (not observed in Indonesia). It grows to a size of 8 cm in length.

Distribution

Throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-west Pacific area and particularly from the eastern coast of Africa to the Philippines.

Habitat

Adults inhabit shallow clear coastal to outer reef crests with rich coral growth to about 15 m depth. Often collected at depths less than 1 m in the northernmost parts of its range, but may occur more deeply (to 28 m) further south, and rarely more shallow than 5 m. Oviparous. Eggs are demersal and adhesive, and are attached to the substrate via a filamentous, adhesive pad or pedestal. Larvae are planktonic, often found in shallow, coastal waters.