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Lance Blenny
Aspidontus dussumieri (Valenciennes, 1836)
A Lance Blenny at a depth of 10m,Gordon's Bay, Sydney, New South Wales, March 2003. View larger image.
The Lance Blenny is white with a dark stripe from the eye to the caudal fin.
It has an elongate body with a long-based dorsal fin. The mouth is positioned ventrally below the rounded snout. There is a large fang on either side of the lower jaw.
This species grows to 12cm in length.
It occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific.
In Australia it is known from the central to north-western coasts of Western Australia and from the northern coast of Queensland to central New South Wales.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The Lance Blenny looks similar to the False Cleanerfish (view fact sheet) but can be distinguished by snout shape and the colour of the stripe on the head behind the eye. The Lance Blenny has a rounded snout with a plain brown stripe behind the eye. False Cleanerfish have a pointed snout and a bluish stripe usually with dark margins.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Allen, G.R., Steene, R. & M. Allen. 1998. A Guide to Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. Pp. 250.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
