PROFILBARU.COM

Blackbelly triplefin
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Blenniiformes
Family:	Tripterygiidae
Genus:	Enneapterygius
Species:	E. fuscoventer
Binomial name
	Enneapterygius fuscoventer; Fricke, 1997

The blackbelly triplefin (Enneapterygius fuscoventer) is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Enneapterygius, described by German ichthyologist Ronald Fricke in 1997 and known from the western Pacific Ocean.^[2]

Etymology

The blackbelly triplefin was described by Ronald Fricke in 1997, from a male holotype (USNM 259131) and other specimens.^[3] The specific name "fuscoventer" combines the Latin words fuscus (dark) and venter (belly), and refers to the dark colouring on the stomachs of male specimens.^[3]

Description

Fricke described Enneapterygius fuscoventer as a medium-sized member of the Enneapterygius pyramis species group, which also contains the Lord Howe Island triplefin (E. howensis), the Kermadec triplefin (E. kermadecensis), the Henderson triplefin (E. ornatus), the pyramid triplefin (E. pyramis), and the Rapa triplefin (E. randalli).^[3] Male blackbelly triplefins can reach a maximum length of 2.3 centimetres (0.91 inches).^[2]^[4] Under alcohol, the males have a yellow forehead, a black face with dark gray eyes, a blue line beneath each eye, a mostly brown body with black fins and black streaks in the shape of pyramids on the belly.^[3]

Distribution

The blackbelly triplefin is a tropical blenny known from reefs in the western Pacific Ocean, and has been described from the Philippines, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea, the Society Islands, American Samoa, and Fiji. It has been recorded swimming at a depth range of 0–5 metres (0-13.1 feet).^[2]^[4]

References

^ Williams, J.; Holleman, W. (2014). "Enneapterygius fuscoventer". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T178913A1547015. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T178913A1547015.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Enneapterygius fuscoventer". FishBase. April 2019 version.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Fricke, R., 1997 (20 Nov.) [ref. 23339] Tripterygiid fishes of the western and central Pacific, with descriptions of 15 new species, including an annotated checklist of world Tripterygiidae (Teleostei). Koeltz Scientific Books. Tripterygiid fishes of the western and central Pacific, with descriptions of 15 new species, including an annotated checklist of world Tripterygiidae (Teleostei). 1997: iii-ix, 1-607.
^ ^a ^b Enneapterygius fuscoventer at www.fishwise.co.za.