Black And Red Triplefin

Description: Male red on anterior half of body, black on posterior half. Female translucent greyish to yellowish green with red scale margins, white flecks on body, midlateral row of white spots on side of body, white snout tip, and white mark on cheek. Head, chest, and pectoral-fin base scaleless; small lobate or branched orbital tentacle; mandibular pores 2-4 + 2 + 2-4. Maximum size to 3.9 cm TL (Ref. 90102).

Dorsal spines (total): 14 - 18; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8 - 10; Analspines: 1; Analsoft rays: 16 - 21

Adults are usually found in surge channels or on vertical encrusted rock walls, in tidal pools on reef crests (Ref. 27223, 90102) and areas with some wave action and abundant algal growth (Ref. 90102). Eggs are hemispherical and covered with numerous sticky threads that anchor them in the algae on the nesting sites (Ref. 240). Larvae are planktonic which occur primarily in shallow, nearshore waters (Ref. 94114).

Enneapterygius similis, known commonly as the black and red triplefin, blacktail triplefin or masked threefin, is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Enneapterygius. It was described by Ronald Fricke in 1997. This species occurs in the western central Pacific Ocean, from the Ryukyu Islands south through the Philippines, in Sabah, central Indonesia, Shepard Island, New Caledonia and eastern Australia.