Hairtail Blenny, Xiphasia setifer Swainson 1839
A Hairtail Blenny, Xiphasia setifer, at the Pipeline, Nelson Bay, New South Wales, Feb 2009, depth 10 m. Source: Dave Harasti / http://www.daveharasti.com/. License: All rights reserved
An eel-like sabre-toothed blenny with alternating light and dark bands on the yelllowish-brown head and body, and a blue-edged spot on dorsal fin behind the eye. Hairtail blennies have long-based dorsal and anal fins that are continuous with the tail fin, and large sabre-like fangs in each jaws.
The Hairtail Blenny usually lives in the burrows of other fishes, and divers usually only see the head poking out.
Video of a Hairtail Blenny swimming and feeding in Manado Bay, North Sulawesi, Indonesia in 2004.
Hairtail Blenny, Xiphasia setifer Swainson 1839
More Info
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Distribution |
Tropical and subtropical waters from Exmouth Gulf (Western Australia), around northern Australia to about Eden (New South Wales); also recorded from Lord Howe Island. Elsewhere, widespread in the Indo-west Pacific, from the Red Sea, South Africa, eastwards to Vanutau, southern Japan, and Papua New Guinea. Lives in burrows on sandy or silty bottoms in depths of 2-150 m in Australia. This nocturnal species is rarely seen away from its burrow during the day. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin XII-XIV, 105-119; Anal fin II, 107-119; Caudal fin (segmented rays) 10. Body extremely elongate, slender, ribbon- or eel-like, depth 30–40 in SL. Head small, eye large; jaws with an enlarged fang-like tooth anteriorly on either side of the upper and lower jaws. All fin-rays unbranched. Dorsal and anal fins long-based, continuous with caudal fin. Dorsal fin arises above the eye, gill openings on side of head. Caudal fin sometimes with filaments extending from the centre of fin. |
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Size |
To about 56 cm. |
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Colour |
Brownish-yellow with alternating light and dark bands or bars along sides, darker bands continue onto dorsal fin; body paler below. Front of dorsal fin with blue horizontal lines and a blue-edged black ocellus or spot behind the head. |
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Feeding |
Feeds at night on fishes, crustaceans and other invertebrates. Belongs to the group known as "sabre-tooth blennies", all possessing enlarged canine teeth in their jaws used to bite scales a flesh from unsuspecting fishes. |
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Biology |
Little is known of the biology of this species. Females lay demersal eggs that adhere to the bottom. |
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Fisheries |
Traded in the aquarium industry, and occasionally caught as bycatch in commercial fisheries. |
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Remarks |
Adults are occasionally attracted to lights at night and have been dip-netted from the surface. |
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Etymology |
The specific name is from the Latin seta (bristle) and the suffix -fer (to bear, carry), in reference to the pelvic fins that consist of one large filamentous ray. |
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Species Citation |
Xiphasia setifer Swainson 1839, Nat. hist. classif. fishes ... 2: 259. Type locality: Vizagapatam, India. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2023 |
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Resources |
Hairtail Blenny, Xiphasia setifer Swainson 1839
References
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine fishes of tropical Australia and south-east Asia. Western Australian Museum, Perth. 292 pp.
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.
Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Perth : Western Australian Museum 201 pp. 70 pls
Blaber, S.J.M., D.T. Brewer & A.N. Harris. 1994. Distribution, biomass and community structure of demersal fishes of the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 45(3): 375-396.
Burgess, W.E., Axelrod, H.R. & Hunziker III, R.E. 1990. Dr. Burgess's atlas of marine aquarium fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey.
Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2
Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & Kailola, P.J. 1984. Trawled Fishes of Southern Indonesia and Northwest Australia. Jakarta : Dir. Gen. Fish. (Indonesia), German Tech. Coop., Aust. Dev. Ass. Bur. 406 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to sea fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers pp. I-xvii + 1-434.
Johnson, J.W. 1999. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43(2): 709-762.
Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 pp.
Randall , J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R.C. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs
Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1976. The saber-toothed blennies, tribe Nemophini (Pisces : Blenniidae). Monographs of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 19: 1-196 figs 1-179
Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1987. The saber-toothed blennies, tribe Nemophini (Pisces: Blenniidae): an update. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 139: 1-52 figs 1-29
Springer, V.G. 2001. Family Blenniidae, pp. 3538-3546. In: Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds) 2001. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.
Swainson, W. 1839. The Natural History of Fishes, Amphibians, and Reptiles, or Monocardian Animals. London : Longman, Orme, Brown, Green & Longmans, and John Taylor Vol. 2 452 pp. 135 figs See ref at BHL
Watson, W. 2009. Larval development in blennies. pp. 309-350. In Patzner, R.A., E.J. Gonçalves, P.A. Hastings & B.G. Kapoor (eds) The biology of blennies. Science Publishers, Enfield, NH, USA. 482 pp.
Williams, J.T. 2014. Xiphasia setifer. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014: e.T46080159A48402209. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T46080159A48402209.en. Downloaded on 05 January 2016.
