Hypsoblennius ionthas

Super Group: 
Opisthokonta
Phylum: 
Chordata
Sub-Phylum: 
Vertebrata
Class: 
Actinopteri
Order: 
Perciformes
Sub-Order: 
Blennioidei
Family: 
Blenniidae
Sub-Family: 
Salariinae
Genus: 
Hypsoblennius
Species: 
ionthas
Authority: 
Jordan & Gilbert 1882
Synonym(s): 
Isesthes ionthas (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882)

Diagnosis

Diagnosis_Genus: Hypsoblennius Gill.
Blennius Linnaeus. Caput declive, tectum. Membr. branch. rad. VI. Corpus lanceolatum. Pinnae ventrales didactylae, muticae. Pinna ani distincta.
Diagnosis_Species: lsesthes ionthas Jordan & Gilbert. Head 4 (4 2/3); depth 3 4/5 (4 1/2). D. XII, 13, or XII, 14; A.II, 13, or II,14. Body rather deep, moderately compressed, the back little elevated. Head short, blunt, but less so than in I. punctatus ; the profile prominent above the eye, thence descending abruptly but not vertically to the tip of the snout; oblique length of snout 4 in head. Mouth small, low, its cleft largely anterior, the short maxillary scarcely reaching past the front of the eye, 4 in head. Eyes large, placed high, 5 in head, the interorbital space about half their diameter. Orbital cirrus low, scarcely larger than nasal cirrus, which is about equal to diameter of pupil. Teeth moderate, equal; no posterior canines.Gill-opening extending downward to a point a little below middle of base of pectoral, the height of the slit 3 in head. Lateral line not reaching tip of pectoral. Dorsal fin continuous, the spines low and not very stiff, slenderer than in I. punctatus, the longest spines a little lower than the soft rays, which are about 1 1/3 in head. Caudal free from anal, slightly connected with dorsal; a little shorter than head; pectoral about as long as head; ventrals shorter than head. Color clear olive-green, with only traces of darker bars; body everywhere densely freckled with small round blackish spots, smaller than the pupil; on the sides and lower part of head these spots are reduced to close-set dots; two dark lines, separated by a pale area, downward from eye ; a vertical curved blackish line behind eye, in front of which is a golden area. Vertical fins all plain olive-green, their edges dusky; tips of anal rays pale; paired fins dusky-olive; lower parts of head tinged with golden, sometimes with dusky cross-bars; cirri green. Four specimens, the largest about 2 1/2 inches long, were obtained with hook and line from the wharves at Pensacola. The small size of the orbital cirrus and the freckled coloration readily distinguish this species from its congeners.
Body_male_length: 10 cm
Body_lenght_sexual_maturity: 20 to 21 mm SL (Ditty et al. 2005)
Sequence_12sDNA: DQ143878, GQ865560 (Javonillo & Harold 2010)

Etymology

Hypsoblennius: Greek, hypsi = high + Greek, blennios = mucus

Type species

The type species for the genus hypsoblennius is Blennius hentz (Lesueur, 1825).

Type illustration / Type locality / Type specimen

Type locality: Pensacola, Florida, U.S.A.
Type specimen: Isesthes ionthas, Jordan and Gilbert, 1883:299. USNM 30856 (4) [1], Pensacola, Florida, collected by
D.S. Jordan [? and S. Stearns], Mar 1882.

Ecology

Habitat: Coastal
Habitat: Western Atlantic, South Carolina to Texas, including southern Florida in the USA.
Substrate: water
Salinity: marine
Oxygen_level: Oxic
Depth: Epipelagic (14m)
Migratory: no

Life cycle

Reproduction_mode: sexual
Fecundity_number_of_eggs: Eggs are demersal and adhesive, and are attached to the substrate via a filamentous, adhesive pad or pedestal. Larvae are planktonic, often found in shallow, coastal waters.
Fertility_period: Seasonal (May to September in South Carolina, Crabtree and Middaugh, 1982).
Spawning_method: fertilization in the water column (Empty oyster shells are used as spawning sites, and the males continuously guard the eggs from predation, Crabtree and Middaugh 1982).

Feeding behaviour

Herbivorous

Mode of locomotion

Motility: motile_swimming

Observation site(s)

SYMBIONTS

Displaying 1 - 2 of 2
Association with... Region origin Name of site In reference...
Amyloodinium ocellatum Mississippi Sound
Amyloodinium ocellatum Gulf Coast Research Laboratory