Salarias fasciatus

Salarias fasciatus (jewelled blenny) is a popular marine aquarium fish species in Australasia. Despite being also known as the lawnmower blenny due to its propensity to consume algae growth from rocks and glass, it is principally a detritivore, with plant material making up only 15% of its diet. This species reaches a length of 14 centimetres (5.5 in) TL.[2] The lawnmower blenny is generally regarded as compatible with most other marine fish species and as a group with other lawnmower blennies.

Salarias fasciatus

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Blenniiformes
Family: Blenniidae
Genus: Salarias
Species:
S. fasciatus
Binomial name
Salarias fasciatus
(Bloch, 1786)
Synonyms
  • Blennius fasciatus Bloch, 1786
  • Salarias quadripennis Cuvier, 1816

The lawnmower blenny blends in with its surroundings, changing color[3] to hide itself from predators. It stays mostly on the ocean or aquarium floor or on any rock or corals.

Description

Salarias fasciatus is a small fish, with maximum recorded size of about 14 cm. Body depth about 3.7 to 4.2 in length, head small, branched supraorbital and nuchal cirri. Lip margins smooth. No notch in dorsal fin, dorsal and anal fins attached to base of caudal fin by a membrane. Adult males have elongated anterior rays on the anal fin. Colour variable. Usually olive to brown with dark bars and a large number of round or elongated white spots of different sizes. There are usually dark longitudinal lines on the front part of the body, and small bright blue spots with dark outlines along the rear part of the body.[4]

Distribution

The Salarias fasciatus lives from East Africa and the Red Sea to Samoa and the Islands of Micronesia.[4]

Habitat

The Salarias fasciatus is usually observed on shallow reef flats with heavy algal cover.[4]

Taxonomy

Georges Cuvier described this species as Salarias quadripennis in 1816 and named it as the type species of the genus Salarias but Cuvier's name was shown to be a junior synonym of Bloch's Blennius fasciatus.[5][6]

References
  1. Williams, J.T. (2014). "Salarias fasciatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T48342111A48387671. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T48342111A48387671.en.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Salarias fasciatus" in FishBase. February 2013 version.
  3. "Starry Blenny - the most versatile fish I've ever owned".
  4. Randall, John E.; Allen, Gerald R.; Steene, Roger C. (1997). Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea (second ed.). Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 0-8248-1895-4.
  5. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke & R. van der Laan (eds.). "Salarias". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  6. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke & R. van der Laan (eds.). "Blennius fasciatus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
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