Biodiversity & Conservation

Tompot blenny - Parablennius gattorugine

Parablennius gattorugine

Image Paul Newland - The tompot blenny Parablennius gattorugine. Image width ca XX cm.
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Distribution map

Parablennius gattorugine recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Parablennius gattorugine is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Chordata Sea squirts, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
Class Actinopterygii Ray-finned fish, e.g. sturgeon, eels, fin fish, gobies, blennies, and seahorses
Authority (Linnaeus, 1758)
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Parablennius gattorugine is found in the southern British Isles but is not found in the North Sea.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Parablennius gattorugine is found in inshore waters, usually in crevices or holes in steep rocks from 3-32 m. Parablennius gattorugine is also found between vegetation or boulders at extreme low water.
Text page icon Description Parablennius gattorugine is a large blenny up to 30 cm in length. Parablennius gattorugine has a single branched tentacle above each eye. It is yellow-brown in colour, sometimes it can be greenish, with 7 or more dark bars running across its body from the dorsal fin to the underside.
Identifying features
  • Single branched tentacle above each eye.
  • Yellow-brown, can be greenish.
  • Seven or more dark bars, run from dorsal fin across body to underside.
  • Up to 30 cm in length.
Additional information icon Additional information Parablennius ruber has a similar appearance but is red in colour and has been recorded at a small number of very wave exposed locations in western Britain and Ireland.

This review can be cited as follows:

Olwen Ager 2008. Parablennius gattorugine. Tompot blenny. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 20/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=4036>