Oyster Blenny, Omobranchus anolius (Valenciennes 1836)

Other Names: Crested Blenny

An female Oyster Blenny, Omobranchus anolius, in Rose Bay, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, March 2016. Source: Sylke Rohrlach / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-ShareAlike

Summary:

A comb-tooth blenny often found in mussel and oyster beds. Males have a prominent fleshy crest on the head, and long filamentous dorsal-fin rays. Oyster Blennies are usually olive green, with black spots and fine bluish or blackish lines along sides, and fine pale wavy lines on head.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2021, Omobranchus anolius in Fishes of Australia, accessed 23 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4742

Oyster Blenny, Omobranchus anolius (Valenciennes 1836)

More Info

Distribution	Widespread in shallow tropical and temperate waters of eastern and south-eastern Australia, from Port Curtis, Queensland, to Spencer Gulf, South Australia. The species has recently also been recorded in New Zealand. Inhabits shallow bays and estuaries, often among oyster and mussel beds, in depths to 10 m.
Features	Dorsal fin XI-XIII, 17-19; Anal fin II, 19-20; Caudal fin 12-13; Pectoral fin 13; Pelvic fin I, 2. Body long, slender, compressed, snout steep, mouth small, eyes near top of head. Tentacles absent from nostrils and above eye. Dorsal fin long-based, pelvic fins reduced to a hidden spine and two long, slender rays. Males with a prominent fleshy crest on the head, and long filamentous dorsal-fin rays.
Size	To 9 cm.
Colour	Olive green to greyish, with black spots and fine bluish or blackish lines along sides, and fine whitish wavy lines on head.
Feeding
Biology	Like all blennies, the sexes are separate and females lay demersal, adhesive eggs. Females deposit 200-500 eggs in batches, commonly on the inside of oyster shells (Francis et al. 2004). They also spawn in mussel shells and calcareous worm tubes. The male parent guards the eggs until the larvae hatch. The larvae have a planktonic phase. Oyster blennies live in association with oyster shells, mussel shells and calcareous polychaete worm tubes, usually in the intertidal region of bays and estuaries. Females lay their eggs in empty oyster or mussel shells.
Fisheries	Of no interest to fisheries.
Conservation	IUCN Red List : Least Concern
Etymology	The species is named anolius after anole lizards of the genus Anolis (anoles), in reference to the how the blenny “raises its little head like these little saurians named anolis” (translation from Valenciennes' description, Scharpf & Lazara 2020).
Species Citation	Blennechis anolius Valenciennes, in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1836, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons Vol. 11: 288. Type locality: Port Jackson, New South Wales.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2021
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Oyster Blenny, Omobranchus anolius (Valenciennes 1836)

References

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De Vis, C.W. 1884. On new fish from Moreton Bay. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 1(3): 144-147 (described as Salarias galeatus)

Francis, M.P., Smith, P.J., Walsch, C., & Gomon, M.F. 2004. First records of the Australian blenny, Omobranchus anolius, from New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 38: 671-679.

Gibbs, S., Hundt, P., Nelson, A., Egan, J., Tongnunui, P. & Simons, A. 2018. Systematics of the combtooth blenny clade Omobranchus (Blenniidae: Omobranchini), with notes on early life history stages. Zootaxa 4369(2): 270-280. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4369.2.7

Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H. 1994. The fishes of Australia's south coast. State Print, Adelaide, Australia.

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Scharpf, C. & Lazara, K.J. 2020. Order Blenniiformes: Family Blenniidae in The ETYFish Project: Fish Name Etymology Database, accessed 16 Dec 2020, https://www.etyfish.org/blenniiformes2/

Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 2008. Family Blenniidae. pp. 693-696 in Gomon, M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.

Springer, V.G. 1972. Synopsis of the tribe Omobranchini with descriptions of three new genera and two new species (Pisces : Blenniidae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 130: 1-31 figs 1-16

Springer, V.G. & Gomon, M.F. 1975. Revision of the blenniid fish genus Omobranchus with descriptions of three new species and notes on other species of the tribe Omobranchini. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 177: 135.

Steindachner, F. 1863. Ichthyologische Mittheilungen (VI). Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 13: 1189-1192 fig. (described as Petroscirtes altivelis)

Stewart, A.L., Struthers, C.D. & Barker, J.J. 2015. 217 Family Blenniidae. pp. 1528-1538, in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. (eds). The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 4 pp. 1153-1748.

Thomson, J.M. & Bennett, A.E. 1953. The oyster blenny, Omobranchus anolius (Valenciennes) (Blenniidae). Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 4: 227-233.

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Whitley, G.P. 1964. A survey of Australian Ichthyology. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 89(1): 11-127 (as Cyneichthys anolius)