Clea's triplefin

Clea's triplefin
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Tripterygiidae
Genus:	Enneapterygius
Species:	E. clea
Binomial name
Enneapterygius clea Fricke, 1997

The Clea's triplefin^[1] (Enneapterygius clea) is a species of threefin blenny in the genus Enneapterygius,^[2] described by German ichthyologist Ronald Fricke in 1997. It is endemic to Queensland, Australia.

Etymology

The Clea's triplefin was described by Ronald Fricke in 1997, from a male holotype (AMS I.22600-056) and 34 paratype specimens.^[3] He gave the blenny its species epithet, "clea", and its common name in honour of his daughter Clea, then seven years old.^[3]

Description

Fricke described the Clea's triplefin as a medium-sized member of the Enneapterygius hemimelas species group, and considered it to be most closely related to the Blacktail triplefin (E. bahasa) and the Redtail triplefin (E. rubicauda), both from the western Pacific Ocean.^[3] Clea's triplefins have yellow-orange bodies with red streaks, orange vertical fins and blue-gray eyes. Males have black heads and tails, while the females do not share this feature. Male Clea's triplefins can reach a maximum length of 3.2 centimetres.^[2]

Distribution

The Clea's triplefin is a tropical blenny, endemic to reefs around Queensland, Australia, in the western central Pacific Ocean. It swims at a depth range of 4-24 metres.^[2]

References

1. ^ Common names for Enneapterygius clea at www.fishbase.org.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Enneapterygius clea at www.fishbase.org.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Fricke, R., 1997 (20 Nov.) [ref. 23339] Tripterygiid fishes of the western and central Pacific, with descriptions of 15 new species, including an annotated checklist of world Tripterygiidae (Teleostei). Koeltz Scientific Books. 1997: iii-ix, 1-607.

External links

• Enneapterygius clea at www.fishwise.co.za
• Enneapterygius clea at World Register of Marine Species
• Enneapterygius clea at Encyclopedia of Life
• Enneapterygius clea at ITIS