Black Lined Blenny

Color dusky, greenish with dusky lines. Males with crest and dorsal with alternate dark and pale oblique lines (Ref. 48636). Living specimens may exhibit a complex facial pattern similar to, but not quite as intricate as, that of Entomacrodus niuafoouensis, and barely discernable parallel pinstripes on their sides.

Oviparous, distinct pairing (Ref. 205).

Dorsal spines (total): 13 - 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 225; Analspines: 2; Analsoft rays: 23 - 25

Inhabits rocky intertidal shorelines and reef flats.

Adults occur in the intertidal zone of rocky shores, rocky reef flats (Ref. 9710), including rock pools, harbors and mangrove zones (Ref. 48636). They graze algae on rocks by groups (Ref. 90102). Oviparous. Eggs are demersal and adhesive (Ref. 205), and are attached to the substrate via a filamentous, adhesive pad or pedestal (Ref. 94114). Larvae are planktonic, often found in shallow, coastal waters (Ref. 94114).

fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial

Istiblennius lineatus (Valenciennes)

Salarias lineatus Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1836:314 [Java; holotype MNHN 1396].

Salarias kingii Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1836:334 [Côte nord-ouest de la Nouvelle-Hollande (Australia); holotype MNHN A.2048].

Salarias hasseltii Bleeker, 1851:257 [Tjilankahan, Java; neotype MNHN 1396, holotype of Salarias lineatus Valenciennes, designated below].

Salarias lividus Thiollière in Montrouzier, 1856:463 [Woodlark Island, holotype lost; neotype USNM 203749, Trobriand Islands, Kuia Island; designated below].

Salarias mccullochi Fowler and Bean, 1923:25 [Billingshausen Island; holotype USNM 83293].

Salarias multilineatus Fowler, 1945:68 [Saipan Island; holotype ANSP 71602].

DIAGNOSIS (see also Tables 22 to 26).—A species of the Lineatus complex in which: crest of males uniformly pigmented or with pale central area; females lack crest; color pattern on caudal peduncle of males usually of dark stripes or dashes, occasionally including squiggles, occasionally dark spots, which are restricted to peduncular area; pattern on caudal peduncle of females infrequently like male pattern, usually of dark spots (dots), which also occur well anterior to peduncle; dark stripes often present on anterior half of body of both sexes; total dorsal-fin elements of males 35 to 38 (rarely 38), of females 34 to 38 (rarely 38); total vertebrae 39 to 43 (usually 40 to 42, both sexes).

DISTRIBUTION (Figure 68).—Istiblennius lineatus is distributed from the Laccadive (Jones and Kumaran, 1980:530) and Maldive islands, central Indian Ocean, east to Mangareva, Gambier Islands, Pacific Ocean. It occurs as far north as Toyohama, Japan (about 200 km farther WNW than reported by Yoshino in Masuda et al., 1984:300). It is notably absent from the Chagos Islands (Indian Ocean) and Wake, Marcus, Hawaiian, Johnston, and northern Line islands, although it has been reported from Fanning based on sight records (Chave and Eckert, 1974:306; record not included on Figure 68). The Paracel Islands, South China Sea, record indicated in Figure 68 is based on an illustrated report in Anonymous (1979:423).

GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION.—Means for meristics of I. lineatus (Tables 22 and 23) vary widely and seemingly randomly, but there is a tendency for specimens from New Hebrides, Fiji, Tonga (all marginally off the Pacific plate), and Pacific-plate localities to exhibit higher means than do specimens from other localities. Similarly, the New Hebrides, Tonga (but not Fiji!), and Pacific-plate localities appear to include a greater percentage of specimens with 14 dorsal-fin spines than do the other localities (except Maricaban and Mindoro islands in the Philippines; Table 24). Modal frequencies for number of precaudal vertebrae (10 or 11), which is closely correlated with position of posteriormost pleural rib (usually on first caudal vertebra), vary irregularly in specimens from non-Pacific-plate localities, but tend to be 11 at Pacific-plate localities (i.e., noncontinentally influenced islands).

Specimens from the 28 localities where more than 10 specimens are available vary from having 0 to 20% of specimens with the split-ray condition for the last anal-fin ray (Table 25), but at almost half of these localities (13), the percentage is greater than 10%. Means for total number of mandibular sensory pores (Table 26) tend to fall between 11.8 to 12.0 at almost all localities, but the means at Fiji (11.4), Arno, Marshall Islands (11.6), and Indonesia (11.7) are noticeably lower, considering localities where counts from 10 or more specimens are available. Considering all characters, the Fiji specimens tend to be the most divergent, with specimens from relatively nearby New Hebrides and Tonga exhibiting similar (to each other), and almost as much, divergence.

NOMENCLATURAL

廣泛分布於熱帶印度-太平洋區。台灣除了西部外，皆有分布。

小型魚類，僅具學術研究價值。

體長橢圓形，稍側扁；頭鈍短。雄魚頭頂具冠膜，雌魚無。鼻鬚、眼上鬚掌狀分支；無頸鬚。上唇具鋸齒緣，下唇平滑；齒小而可動，上下頜齒大小相等。D. XII-XIV(XIII), 20-24(22-23)；A. II, 22-25(23-24)； P. 13-15(14)； V. I, 3。背鰭具缺刻，最後一棘小；背鰭與尾柄相連，臀鰭不與尾柄相連，棘部份埋入皮內。頭部有不規則的橫斷線，眼後有一灰斑；體側近背鰭處有6-7對黑斑點，越向下越不顯，體側另有7-8條黑縱線，但近背鰭處和體後側較不規則，呈斷裂或互相連接，雌魚則呈點帶；背鰭另具多條黑斜線。

主要棲息於沿岸潮間帶礁石潮池區，深度3公尺內，常藏身於洞穴或縫隙內，受驚嚇時可見其用一前一後的方式跳躍於潮池與空氣間。以藻類、碎屑和小型無脊椎動物為食。

Istiblennius lineatus, the lined rockskipper, is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It is also commonly known as the lined blenny, black-lined blenny, or thin-lined rockskipper. It can reach a maximum of 15 cm (5.9 in) TL. This species can be found in the aquarium trade.