Butterfly blenny

Butterfly blenny
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Blenniidae
Genus:	Blennius
Species:	B. ocellaris
Binomial name
Blennius ocellaris Linnaeus, 1758

The butterfly blenny, Blennius ocellaris, is a small marine blenniid fish of Northern and Western Europe, as well as the Mediterranean and Black Seas and Morocco. It can grow as large as 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length. It is usually found at a depth of 10–400 metres (33–1,312 ft) down, especially in areas with a rocky floor.

Description

The butterfly blenny has 11–12 dorsal spines, 14–16 dorsal soft rays, 2 anal spines and 15–16 anal soft rays. It has tentacles on the nasal opening, above the eye and on the nape near the first dorsal fin ray. The lateral line is discontinuous. The forward part of the dorsal fin is much higher than the remainder of it.

Reproduction

It spawns in late spring (as late as June in the English Channel) and hides the eggs under an abandoned shell; the male guards the eggs.^[1]

References