Teleostei (teleosts) >
Blenniiformes (Blennies) >
Chaenopsidae (Pike-, tube- and flagblennies)
Etymology: Emblemaria: Latin, emblema = insertion, inlaid work, raised ornament (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Ginsburg & Reid.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 30 m (Ref. 9710). Tropical; 30°N - 15°N, 98°W - 64°W
Western Central Atlantic: northeastern Gulf of Mexico in USA (Ref. 7251). Believed to have a continental distribution but has since been reported from Belize (provisional identification), Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (Ref. 51183).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 5.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251)
Dorsal spines (total): 17 - 20; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14 - 16; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 20 - 21; Vertebrae: 39 - 40. Species distinguished by: dorsal-fin spines 17 to 20; dorsal-fin rays 14 to 16; total dorsal-fin elements 30 to 38; anal-fin rays 20 or 21; vertebrae 39 or 40; pectoral-fin rays 13; 2 obvious segmented pelvic-fin rays (third ray vestigial or goes 5 or more times in length of longest); cirrus on eye arising from a single base, longer than eye diameter in males (and often in females); head smooth anteriorly, never spiny; tip of lower jaw not projecting beyond tip of upper jaw and without fleshy projection; no stripe or series of dark blotches on head and body; one row of teeth on each palatine bone. Common amongst Chaenopsids: small elongate fishes; largest species about 12 cm SL, most under 5 cm SL. Head usually with cirri or fleshy flaps on anterior nostrils, eyes, and sometimes laterally on nape; gill membranes continuous with each other across posteroventral surface of head. Each jaw with canine-like or incisor-like teeth anteriorly; teeth usually also present on vomer and often on palatines (roof of mouth). Dorsal-fin spines flexible, usually outnumbering the segmented soft rays, spinous and segmented-rayed portions forming a single, continuous fin; 2 flexible spines in anal fin; pelvic fins inserted anterior to position of pectoral fins, with 1 spine not visible externally and only 2 or 3 segmented (soft) rays; all fin rays, including caudal-fin rays, unbranched (simple). Lateral line absent. Scales absent (Ref.52855).
Occurs from the shoreline to deep rocky and coral reefs (Ref. 9710).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
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. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 23.6 - 28, mean 26.5 °C (based on 231 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00525 (0.00219 - 0.01260), b=3.06 (2.85 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
