Butterfly blenny

Sea butterfly ( Blennius ocellaris )

The sea butterfly ( Blennius ocellaris ) belongs to the family of blennies ( Blenniidae ) and is found in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Features

The sea butterfly has a slender elongated and laterally flattened body and how all members of the blennies he has no scales. It reaches a body length up to 20 centimeters. The head with the terminal mouth is large and rounded, the eyes are lying far above. Before the eyes of the anterior border is in each case a lobate skin tentacles. The body is light brown to olive color with an irregular dark brown striations of broad transverse bands.

The dorsal fin extends from the head restraint until shortly before the transition to the one-piece tail fin and has an indentation in the transition area between the 11 hard and the 14 to 15 members and soft rays. The front part is greatly enlarged and has a large dark blue, bright -lined eye spot. The thread-like pelvic fins are throat constantly, are therefore present in the pectoral fins and consist of a hard and 3 soft rays. The paired pectoral fins have 12 rays in the anal fin and two hard jets and 16 soft rays. The swim bladder is absent all blennies.

Dissemination

Seeschmetterlinge come in the eastern Atlantic from the English Channel to the coast of Morocco, in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic and the Black Sea before.

Way of life

Seeschmetterlinge live on the ground in rocky areas at depths of 10 to 400 meters, especially in areas with sand, Schill or mud bottom. The fish eat small soil invertebrates.

They spawn in the spring and summer from May to August. During this time the males demarcate areas. The eggs are laid in empty mussel shells and stones and the male guards ( active brood care ).