WHATSTHATFISH
Bony fish

Tentacled Blenny

Parablennius tentacularis

Also known as: Coral Blenny, Fringehead Blenny, Horned Blenny, Reef Blenny, Rock Blenny

LCLeast ConcernIUCN Red List, 2026
Adult
@Ziggy · Cala Agulla, Mallorca, Spain · August 20131 / 1
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Overview

Found singly in crevices and holes amongst boulders and light vegetation over sandy bottoms of estuaries and coastal reefs.

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!
Reef and rock blennies are usually territorial and have their own areas of rock pools which they skip and jump over, scraping algae from the surface of dead corals. Some male Blennies have small harems of arguing females.
Males and females often have different colouring and features.

02

How to identify

Pattern
blotches
Body shape
tentacles
Head & Mouth
horns

Tap any trait to see other fish that share it.

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Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, Black Sea
  • Country only · 1
LIVES IN

Found singly in crevices and holes amongst boulders and light vegetation over sandy bottoms of estuaries and coastal reefs.

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Adult photos 1

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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. genusParablennius
    7. speciesParablennius tentacularis (Brünnich, 1768)

    SourcesWoRMSFishBase

    06

    More in the family

    Combtooth Blennies (Blenniidae)