Teleostei (teleosts) >
Blenniiformes (Blennies) >
Labrisomidae (Labrisomids)
Etymology: Malacoctenus: Greek, malakos = soft + Greek, kteis, ktenos = comb (Ref. 45335); lianae: Named for Liana Mendes, an ichthyologist friend who studied the natural history of blennioid fishes at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 10 m (Ref. 123106). Tropical
Southwestern Atlantic: Brazil (Fernando de Noronha Archipelago).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 4.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 123106)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 20; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11 - 12; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 19 - 21. This species is distinguished from its southwestern Atlantic congeners by the following set of characters: D XX,11-12 (rarely XVIII, XIX or XXI,13); A II,19-21; pectoral rays 14-15 (rarely 13); length of third pelvic ray contained 2.0-2.5 times in second pelvic-fin ray; lateral-line scales 54-63 (exceptional 65-68); total nuchal cirri 10-16; presence of pre-dorsal and pre-pectoral scales, considerably smaller than scales on body; breast usually fully scaled on males, often naked on females; two pores (rarely one pore), extend from preopercular onto opercle. Colouration: body with 5-6 (rarely 7) saddle-like bars that do not extend on dorsal fin; two large and distinct somewhat square bright white blotches usually restricted to upper lip (Ref. 123106).
Cross section: oval.
Occurs in shallow reefs where it preys on small benthic invertebrates (Ref. 123106).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Carvalho-Filho, A., I. Sazima, S.M.Q. Lima, D. Almeida, L. Mendes, R.M. Dias, M.R. Britto and J.L. Gasparini, 2020. Review of the genus Malacoctenus (Actinopterygii: Labrisomidae) from the Southwestern Atlantic, with description of two new species. Zootaxa 4819(3):499-520. (Ref. 123106)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00933 (0.00410 - 0.02122), b=3.10 (2.91 - 3.29), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
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