Malacoctenus triangulatus
Saddled Blenny
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Labrisomidae (Labrisomid Blennies)
Malacoctenus
Malacoctenus triangulatus (Saddled Blenny)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Nearly symmetrical dorsal and ventral profiles, maxilla covered posteriorly, triangular saddle markings on side of body, snout slightly spatulate, anterior naris tubular with 2-4 long, slender cirri on posterior margin, supraorbital cirrus long and multifid with 2-8 branches, nuchal cirrus multifid with 4-13 branches, maxilla extends to anterior margin of orbit, lips fleshy, upper lip with continuous fold, jaw teeth a single row of canines, teeth on vomer but not in palatine, gill rakers on first arch 11-14, measurements (% SL): head length 26%-30%, snout length 7.3%-10.3%, upper jaw length 8.2%-10.6%, pre-dorsal-fin length 25.1%-28.1%, pre-anal-fin length 46.1%-49.2%, body depth at pelvic fin origin 23.3%-29.4%, pectoral fin rays 13-15 (usually 14), dorsal fin XIX-XXI, 11-13, first spine usually >11% SL and longer than second through fifth spines, pelvic fin I, 3, third ray no more than half the length of longest ray, anal fin II, 20-22, scales on body including predorsal and prepectoral areas, breast scaled in adult males, lateral line scales 52-61
Pale yellowish with 3-5 dark brown or reddish triangular saddles on upper to mid-flank, large spots on lower side midway between saddles, saddles may be light or dark, uniform or reticulate, or absent, fins of males unpigmented, fins of females densely spotted, color patterns vary geographically
Distribution
Western Atlantic from southern Florida and the Bahamas to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Greater and Lesser Antilles
Dry Tortugas, Veracruz, and Campeche Bank in the Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Rocks and coral reefs in clear water to 14 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 48 mm SL
Inhabits coral reefs and rocky shores. Often found in crevices, or among weed and rubble (Ref. 13121). Feeds on crustaceans (Ref. 13628).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2007-10-18.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Springer 1959b
Springer 1959c
Birdsong and Emery 1968
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Springer and Gomon 1975
Castro-Aguirre and Márquez-Espinoza 1981
Greenfield and Johnson 1981
Robins and Ray 1986
Randall 1996
Smith 1997
Williams 2002c
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Lubbock, R. and A. Edwards (1981) The fishes of Saint Paul's Rocks. J. Fish Biol. 18(2):135-157.
Cervigón, F. (1994) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 3. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 295 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Carvalho-Filho, A., I. Sazima, S.M.Q. Lima, D. Almeida, L. Mendes, R.M. Dias, M.R. Britto and J.L. Gasparini (2020) Review of the genus Malacoctenus (Actinopterygii: Labrisomidae) from the Southwestern Atlantic, with description of two new species. Zootaxa 4819(3):499-520.
Comments On Malacoctenus triangulatus