Hawaii's Reef Fishes

Blennies tend to take refuge in small holes in the reef into which they back tail-first. Most tropical species graze on benthic algae; the Shortbodied Blenny ( Exallias brevis) is unusual in feeding on coral polyps.

The fangblennies of the genus Plagiotremus make rapid attacks on other fishes to remove mucus and skin tissue (sometimes with small scales); they do this with their small anterior incisiform teeth, not the large canines (which are used in defense).

Fangblennies often direct their attacks to divers, but one feels only a light touch when they make contact.

The blennies for which the reproductive habits are known lay demersal eggs that are guarded by the male parent. Fourteen species are recorded from the Hawaiian Islands. One of these, the wide-ranging Ecsenius bicolor, was found in Pearl Harbor in 1950 on a drydock towed from Guam; it has not been seen in Hawai'i since. The general Hawaiian name for blennies is pao'o.

Dotted Line Blenny

Cirripectes quagga (Fowler & Ball, 1924) Pao'o

Color variable; in Hawaii usually dark brown with vertical rows of very small white spots on body (4 or 5 spots per row); dorsal soft rays 14-16 (usually 15); cirri on nape 23-36 (usually 26-32). Largest, 3.5 inches (8.9 cm). Indo-Pacific, generally in less than 30 feet (9.2 m). Away from Hawaii, usually with dark bars on body, sometimes with a broad red or yellow area posteriorly.

Marbled Blenny

Pale greenish, spotted and barred with dark brownish gray, the darkest spot on shoulder; dorsal soft rays usually 15 or 16; a long tentacle over eye with fine side branches; 2 small cirri on each side of nape (medial one branched). Attains nearly 6 inches (15 cm). Hawaiian Islands; occurs along rocky shores exposed to surf, often in the intertidal zone.

Scarface Blenny