Yellow triplefin

Yellow triplefin
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Tripterygiidae
Genus: Enneapterygius
Species: E. abeli
Binomial name
Enneapterygius abeli
(Klausewitz, 1960)
Synonyms
  • Tripterygion abeli Klausewitz, 1960[1]
  • Helcogramma abeli (Klausewitz, 1960)[1]

The Yellow triplefin (Enneapterygius abeli),[2] also known as the Abel's triplefin in South Africa,[3] is a species of triplefin in the genus Enneapterygius.[4] Males in this species can reach a maximum length of 2.5 centimetres.[4] The blennies are generally bright yellow in colour, and males have black heads.[4] They feed mostly on benthic invertebrates.[5]

In 1960, W. Klausewitz described the species, originally assigning it to the genus Tripterygion under "T. abeli".[6] It was later reassigned to Helcogramma, before being reassigned to Enneapterygius by W. Holleman in 2005.[7]

Distribution

The Yellow triplefin is a tropical blenny found in coral reefs located in the western Indian Ocean; in the Red Sea, the East African coast, Kwazulu-Natal, Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros and St. Brandon Shoals.[4] Due to a lack of major threats to the species, and its wide distribution, the IUCN redlist ranked it as "Least Concern" in 2009.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Synonyms of Enneapterygius abeli at www.fishbase.org.
  2. Common names for Enneapterygius abeli at www.fishbase.org.
  3. Enneapterygius abeli at www.fishwise.co.za.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Yellow triplefin at www.fishbase.org.
  5. 1 2 Enneapterygius abeli at the IUCN redlist.
  6. Klausewitz, W., 1960 (30 Apr.) [ref. 11926] Fische aus dem Roten Meer. III. Tripterygion abeli n. sp. (Pisces, Blennioidea, Clinidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica v. 41 (nos. 1/2): 11-13.
  7. Holleman, W. 2005, A review of the triplefin fish genus Enneapterygius (Blennioidei: Tripterygidae) in the western Indian Ocean, with descriptions of four new species. Smithiana, Bull. 5:1-25.
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