‹ Fish Finder· #072

Bluestriped Fangblenny

Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos

Bluestriped Fangblenny — photo 1 of 4
Photo 1 of 4 · Jenny (JennyHuang) from Taipei · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
uncommonblackblueorangestripedsmallreef
Habitat
Reef
Max size
15 cm
Depth
1-40 m
Family
Blenniidae

Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos, commonly called the bluestriped fangblenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Ocean. This species reaches a length of 12 centimetres (4.7 in) SL. It is also known as the bluestriped blenny, bluestriped sabretooth blenny, blunt-nose blenny, cleaner mimic, tube-worm blenny or the two-stripe blenny. They hide in deserted worm tubes or other small holes.

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

Easily confused with

Side by side, with what tells them apart.

Bluestriped Fangblenny
This oneBluestriped Fangblenny
Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse
Look-alikeBluestreak Cleaner Wrasse

Bluestriped Fangblenny copies young Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse, dark with a blue stripe, to get close to other fish. The fangblenny's mouth is underslung and armed with fangs, and it swims in short wriggling bursts from a hole it retreats to; the wrasse's mouth is at the tip of its snout, and it holds a cleaning station in the open.

See the Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse →

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