Bicolor Blenny
Ecsenius bicolor
Montagu's Blenny
Coryphoblennius galerita
About
Montagu's blenny is a small, scaleless blenny of wave-battered rocky shores, named for the fringed crest on its head. It is the only species in its genus.
How to tell it apart
In Britain and Ireland, the fringed, fleshy crest between the eyes is what sets Montagu's blenny apart from every other blenny sharing its shores.
Appearance
This blenny has an elongated, scaleless body, eyes set on top of the head, and a downward-pointing mouth. It is pale brown with olive-green vertical stripes and light blue spots. A single dorsal fin runs the length of its back with a clear notch partway along. A fringed, fleshy crest sits between the eyes and continues back along the head as short fleshy tentacles. Its large pectoral fins act almost like limbs, gripping onto rock. Breeding males turn dark or marbled with a white upper lip.
Habitat
Montagu's blenny lives around the mid-tide level of rocky, wave-exposed coasts, from Britain and Ireland south to West Africa and Madeira, and through the Mediterranean into the Black Sea. It favours rockpools with coralline algae rather than leafy seaweed, and can survive out of water at low tide by breathing air while sheltering under rocks.
Did you know?
At night, Montagu's blenny sometimes leaves the water entirely, sleeping on rock above the waterline rather than staying submerged.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
