Blennius ocellaris

Blennius ocellaris

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Megacohors: Osteoglossocephalai
Supercohors: Clupeocephala
Cohors: Euteleosteomorpha
Subcohors: Neoteleostei
Infracohors: Eurypterygia
Sectio: Ctenosquamata
Subsectio: Acanthomorphata
Divisio/Superordo: Acanthopterygii
Subdivisio: Percomorphaceae
Series: Ovalentaria
Superordo: Blenniimorphae
Ordo: Blenniiformes
Subordo: Blennioidei

Familia: Blenniidae
Genus: Blennius
Species: Blennius ocellaris
Name

Blennius ocellaris Linnaeus, 1758
References

Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiæ: impensis direct. Laurentii Salvii. i–ii, 1–824 pp DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.542: 256. Open access Reference page.
Blennius ocellaris in the World Register of Marine Species

Vernacular names
bosanski: Babica dubinka
català: Ase mossegaire
Deutsch: Seeschmetterling
English: Butterfly blenny
français: Blennius ocellaris
עברית: קַרְנוּן עֵינוֹנִי
hrvatski: Babica dubinka
italiano: Blennius ocellaris
Nederlands: Zeevlinder
norsk: Øyeflekket tangkvabbe
polski: Ślizg oczyk
Scots: Clubbock
srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски: Babica dubinka
svenska: Havsfjäril
українська: Собачка-метелик

The butterfly blenny (Blennius ocellaris) is a small marine blenniid fish of Northern and Western Europe, as well as the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea and Morocco. It is usually found at a depth of 10–400 metres (33–1,312 ft) down, especially in areas with a rocky floor.
Description

The butterfly blenny has a deep body at the front, tapering rather quickly to the caudal peduncle. It can grow as large as 20 cm (8 in) in length. It has 11 to 12 dorsal spines, 14 to 16 dorsal soft rays, 2 anal spines and 15 to 16 anal soft rays. It has tentacles on the nasal opening, above the eye and on the nape near the first dorsal fin ray. The lateral line is discontinuous. The front part of the dorsal fin is much higher than the remainder of the fin, and the anal fin is also long, running half the body length. The pelvic fins are set well forward and are divided in two. This fish is a mottled brownish-grey, with five to seven dark vertical bars. There is a large bluish-black eyespot surrounded by a white ring on the 6th and 7th rays of the dorsal fin.[2][3]
Distribution and habitat

The butterfly blenny has a range that extends from the Mediterranean Sea, up the cost of Spain, Portugal and France to the English Channel and the Irish Sea. It is found over rocky substrates covered with seaweed and this means that it is seldom caught in trawls, and may be more common than it seems. It occurs in the subtidal zone, and its depth range is down to about 100 m (330 ft).[4]
Reproduction

It spawns in late spring (as late as June in the English Channel) and hides the eggs under an abandoned shell; the male guards the eggs.[5] An individual near Plymouth was found to be nesting inside the cavity of a large thigh bone.[4]
References

Antonio Di Natale, Murat Bilecenoglu, Michel Bariche, Can Bizsel, Enric Massuti, Jeffrey Williams, Matthew Craig (2014). "Blennius ocellaris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T185126A1768546. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T185126A1768546.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
"Butterfly blenny (Blennius ocellaris)". MarLIN. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
"Blennius ocellaris Linnaeus, 1758: Butterfly blenny". FishBase. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
Jenkins, J. Travis (1925). The Fishes of the British Isles. Frederick Warne & Co. pp. 111–112.
"IFM Geomar - Ozeanografie, Ozeanologie und Meteorologie".