Red-speckled blenny

Cirripectes variolosus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth3–16 m
Water temperature24–30 °C
Best monthsFebruary, March, and April
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Roger Rittmaster, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Cirripectes variolosus, the red-speckled blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean. This species reaches a length of 10 centimetres (3.9 in) TL.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Cirripectes variolosus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 28 records
February: 396 records
March: 397 records
April: 526 records
May: 297 records
June: 200 records
July: 170 records
August: 106 records
September: 145 records
October: 45 records
November: 10 records
December: 2 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–16 m · Deepest record: 182.9 m

0–10 m: 1,030 records
10–20 m: 1,115 records
20–30 m: 102 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 2 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 24–30 °C

24–26 °C: 16 records
26–28 °C: 122 records
28–30 °C: 734 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Red-speckled blenny, Banded Fringe Blenny, collared blenny, red-speckled blenny, Red-speckled Blenny, Red-tipped Fringe Blenny

Names in 3 more languages

Spanish: Blenio Marmoleado de Fuego
French: Blennie à taches rouges
Japanese: Benitsuketategamikaeruuo, ベニツケタテガミカエルウオ

Other scientific names: Cirripectes sebae, Cirripectus variolosus, Istiblennius variolosus, Ophioblennius clarki, Salarias nigripes, Salarias sebae, Salarias variolosus

Similar species

Chestnut blenny
Cirripectes castaneus
Lady Musgrave Blenny
Cirripectes chelomatus
Filamentous blenny
Cirripectes filamentosus
Barred blenny
Cirripectes polyzona
Red-streaked blenny
Cirripectes stigmaticus
Red-head Blenny
Cirripectes vanderbilti

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
2,628 open-data records from 1836 to 2022.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

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