WHATSTHATFISH
Bony fish

Striped Poison-fang Blenny Mimic

Petroscirtes breviceps

Also known as: Black-banded Blenny, Dandy Blenny, Fang Blenny, Sabretooth Blenny, Sabre-toothed Blenny, Shorthead Fangblenny, Shorthead Sabretooth Blenny, Short-headed Blenny, Short-headed Sabretooth, Short-headed Sabretooth Blenny, Striped Fangblenny Mimic, Weed Blenny

LCLeast ConcernIUCN Red List, 2026
Handle with careLook, don't touch
Adult
@fishx6 · Lembeh Resort, Indonesia · August 20081 / 11
01

Overview

Found singly or in pairs, over sand and weedy areas, of coastal and lagoon reefs, nesting and sheltering in bottles, abandoned shells and worm tubes.
They feed on algae, crustaceans, mucus and fins of fish, benthic invertebrates, and zooplankton, and will also nip divers.

Combtooth Blennies are the largest family of blennies, found in both tropical and subtropical waters and freshwater habitats, as the name suggests they have comb like teeth lining their jaws, well suited for scraping food off hard surfaces!
Sabretooth Blennies have teeth to match their name!
They can be seen darting forward to sever flesh from fishes fins. (can sometimes be seen taking a swipe at divers as well) They will then dart back into their holes out of harm's way.
Some blennies will mimic cleaner wrasses to get close enough for a nip at fish.
A few Sabretooth Blennies are venomous.

02

How to identify

Pattern
stripes
Behaviour
pairssolitary

Tap any trait to see other fish that share it.

03

Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Indo-West Pacific
  • Country only · 11
LIVES IN

Found singly or in pairs, over sand and weedy areas, of coastal and lagoon reefs, nesting and sheltering in bottles, abandoned shells and worm tubes.

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Adult photos 11

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Discussion

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    ALL STAGES
    FOR THE MARINE-BIOLOGY CURIOUS

    Deep dive

    Taxonomy

    1. kingdomAnimalia
    2. phylumChordata
    3. classTeleostei
    4. orderBlenniiformes
    5. familyBlenniidae
    6. genusPetroscirtes
    7. speciesPetroscirtes breviceps (Valenciennes, 1836)

    SourcesWoRMSFishBase

    07

    More in the family

    Combtooth Blennies (Blenniidae)