Florida Blenny
Chasmodes saburrae
Biology 3
Commonly found in clumps of oysters on mangrove roots and sea walls. Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs are demersal and adhesive (Ref. 205).
Description 4
The Florida blenny, Chasmodes saburrae, is a small fish displaying a brown mottled or spotted pattern (Robins & Ray 1986). Like many other blenniids, C. saburrae has a continuous dorsal fin with no separation between the spinous and soft fin rays, which average 6 and 19, respectively. Other fin ray counts are as follows: pectoral, 11-13; caudal, 10-13; and anal, 18-19 (Williams 1983). The mouth is large with prominent lip flaps, and contains 10-14 large and 1-10 small upper pharyngeal teeth, along with 5-6 small lower pharyngeal teeth immediately in front of 6 larger canines. The number of mandibular teeth increases with body size. The head slopes steeply toward the mouth, bears at least six mandibular pores and no cirri. The Florida blenny exhibits sexual dimorphism, and descriptive characters of both sexes are detailed below.
Distribution 5
Western Central Atlantic: USA.
Size 6
Maximum size: 100 mm TL
Look alikes 7
The genus Chasmodes contains three species: C. saburrae; the striped blenny, C. bosquianus; and the stretchjaw blenny, C. longimaxilla. While all three species are present in the southeast United States, their ranges rarely overlap. Most of Florida is dominated by C. saburrae, coinciding with C. bosquianus in the northeastern region of the state and both C. bosquianus and C. longimaxilla in northwestern Florida (Robins & Ray 1986, Williams 1983). All species are very similar in appearance, with subtle distinguishing characteristics evident upon close inspection or through dissection. The striped blenny has only four mandibular pores, four canines, a more gradual slope to the head, and more prominent lip flaps than those of C. saburrae (Robins & Ray 1986, Williams 1983). In addition, the two species differ in the number of gill rakers present, averaging 9-13 and 12-14 for C. saburrae and C. bosquianus, respectively (Williams 1983). The remaining species, C. longimaxilla, typically exhibits fewer teeth and a longer maxillary, or upper jaw, than either the Florida or striped blenny (Williams 1983).Regional Occurrence & Habitat Preference: The range of C. saburrae encompasses most of the eastern coast of Florida, around the tip of the state, and westward to the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana (Williams 1983). Individuals can be found in a variety of estuarine habitats, including: rocks and jetties (Peters 1981); around mangrove roots; in seagrass beds; among reefs of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica (Peters 1981); and inside empty valves of the stiff penshell, Atrina rigida (Kuhlmann 1994, 1997). Where its range overlaps with that of C. longimaxilla, C. saburrae appears to prefer seagrass beds, restricting the former species to oyster reefs (Williams 1983).
Environment 8
demersal; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 6 m
Associations 9
As inhabitants of a variety of coastal ecosystems, Florida blennies are associated with several organisms common to mangroves, seagrass beds, oyster reefs and rocky intertidal zones. As mentioned above, C. saburrae is closely associated with the eastern oyster, C. virginica and the stiff penshell, A. rigida, through its reproductive processes (Kuhlmann 1994, 1997; Peters 1981). For lists of other organisms found throughout the ecosystems in which C. saburrae occurs, please refer to the Habitats of the IRL link at the left of this page.
Life cycle 10
Oviparous, distinct pairing (Ref. 205). Nests are found mostly in oyster shells (Ref. 58432).
Reproduction 11
The Florida blenny is sexually dimorphic, and sex is determined primarily upon examination of the anal spine (Smith-Vaniz 1980). In females, the first spine is greatly reduced; whereas, males in courtship display enlarged spines with associated fleshy structures and longitudinal folds of skin. Coloration, body length and jaw length are secondary sexual characteristics of C. saburrae (Williams 1983). Females and immature or non-territorial males are variously mottled. Territorial males often display a series of light longitudinal lines over a darker olive or mottled background, an iridescent blue spot on the membrane between the first and second dorsal spines, with an orange streak running from the spot to the tenth dorsal spine. In addition, these males have orange membranes on the chest and gills, can grow at least twice as long as females, and exhibit a longer jaw. Reproductive individuals have been reported to spawn throughout the day, with one male fertilizing the eggs of several females. After fertilization occurs, all the females of a single male mate deposit eggs on one of several surfaces, such as: empty shells of C. virginica or A. rigida, holes in rocks, sponges, or inside discarded cans (Peters 1981). The parental male then guards the clutches for about three weeks until hatching. Presence of nests in the field has indicated that spawning begins in early March and lasts through October (Peters 1981). The spawning process is continuous, and females lay eggs every one to two weeks throughout the season, spawning at least 2,600 eggs over a lifetime (Peters 1981). Embryology / Larval Development: Clutch size is determined by the number of contributing females, the guarding ability of the male, and the surface chosen. Peters (1981) found that oyster shells held an average of 1,000 to 2,000 eggs, whereas a single can housed about 11,000. Eggs range from 0.7 to 0.9 mm in diameter, are bright yellow at deposition, and turn orange and then pale yellow with age. At 27 °C, eggs hatch in six days, releasing larvae about 3.7 mm in length. Some newly-hatched individuals carry a yolk sac, which is quickly absorbed. Larvae then feed on zooplankton until settling to the benthos after about 21 days. Newly-settled juveniles are approximately 6 mm long, and have developed fins and pigmentation.
Link to Access Genomic Data 12
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=152536&lvl=0
Sources and Credits
- (c) Franks, April, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=fishes&irn=5009207
- (c) Franks, April, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=fishes&irn=5009173
- (c) FishBase, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/21005930
- (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11527197
- (c) FishBase, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/21005931
- (c) FishWise Professional, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/24195612
- (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11527199
- (c) FishBase, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/21005936
- (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11527196
- (c) FishBase, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/21005933
- (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11527201
- (c) matbio, all rights reserved
