‹ Fish Finder· #071

False Harp-tail

Plagiotremus laudandus

False Harp-tail — photo 1 of 1
Photo 1 of 1 · A.T. Cooper / Reef Life Survey. · CC BY 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
uncommonblueyellowtinyreef
Habitat
Reef
Max size
8 cm
Depth
0-30 m
Family
Blenniidae

Plagiotremus laudandus, the bicolour fangblenny, false harptail-blenny, poison-fang blenny mimic, yellow-tailed blenny or the yellowtail fangblenny mimic, is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the western Pacific ocean. This species reaches a length of 8 centimetres (3.1 in) TL. This species is a Batesian mimic of Meiacanthus atrodorsalis.

Adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side, with what tells them apart.

False Harp-tail
This oneFalse Harp-tail
Forktail Blenny
Look-alikeForktail Blenny

A copy of a fish predators leave alone. Forktail Blenny carries venomous fangs, and False Harp-tail borrows its colours: grey-blue in front, yellow behind, with a forked tail. The forktail is told by a blue-edged black line running diagonally back from the eye and a yellow dorsal fin or back, and adults grow long filaments on the tail tips. The harp-tail feeds by darting in to bite skin and scales off other fish.

See the Forktail Blenny →

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