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Bluestriped Fangblenny
Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos (Bleeker, 1852)

A Bluestriped Fangblenny at a depth of 11 m, Mantis Reef, Wreck Bay, northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, December 2001. View larger image.

A Bluestriped Fangblenny at a depth of 13 m, Steve's Bommie, Ribbon Reef #3, Great Barrier Reef off Cooktown, Queensland, December 2001. The fish in the background is probably a female Scalefin Anthias (link to fact sheet in text). View larger image.

The Bluestriped Fangblenny is an aggressive fish that mimics other species in order to get close to its prey. It attacks rapidly, biting off small pieces of tissue, mucus and scales.

The juvenile Bluestriped Fangblenny mimics the Striped Cleaner Wrasse. It is blue with a black stripe that extends from the snout to the caudal peduncle.

As an adult, the Bluestriped Fangblenny is black to orange-yellow with two narrow blue stripes on the side of the body that extend from the snout to the caudal peduncle. Randall, Allen and Steene (see further reading) state that the orange-yellow colour phase resembles the colouration of the harmless female Scalefin Anthias. This allows the adult Bluestriped Fangblenny to get close to its prey.

This species grows to 12 cm in length.

It is found on coral reefs and lagoons at depths from 1 m to 40m.

The Bluestriped Fangblenny occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-West and Central Pacific, from the Red Sea, north to Japan, throughout Micronesia, south to Australia and east to the Marquesas Islands.

In Australia the Bluestriped Fangblenny is known from off the north-western coast of Western Australia around the tropical north of the country, and south to the southern coast of New South Wales.

View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.

Further reading

1. Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
2. Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 201.
3. Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. Coral Graphics. Pp. 330.
4. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 251.