Ucla xenogrammus Holleman, 1993
Largemouth triplefin
Ucla xenogrammus
photo by Greenfield, J.

Family:  Tripterygiidae (Triplefin blennies), subfamily: Tripterygiinae
Max. size:  4.72 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  reef-associated; marine; depth range 2 - 41 m
Distribution:  Pacific Ocean: Viet Nam, Philippines, Palau and Caroline Islands to Papua New Guinea, Australia (including Christmas Island), and Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga, east to American Samoa and Rapa.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 15-15; Anal spines: 1-1; Anal soft rays: 18-21. Enlarged jaws, with the lower jaw protruding (Ref. 94101).
Biology:  Adults inhabit lagoons and seaward reefs (Ref. 90102). They are found in caves, crevices and on flat surfaces of coral, sponges or rubble with algae (Ref. 48636). Some live on live corals (Ref. 94101). Eggs are hemispherical and covered with numerous sticky threads that anchor them in the algae on the nesting sites (Ref. 240). Larvae are planktonic which occur primarily in shallow, nearshore waters (Ref. 94114).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 06 May 2010 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.