
Yellow triplefin
Enneapterygius abeli
- Usual depth3–29 m
- Water temperature23–29 °C
- Best monthsApril
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Valentin Moser, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Valentin Moser · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The yellow triplefin, also known as the Abel's triplefin in South Africa, is a species of triplefin in the genus Enneapterygius. Males in this species can reach a maximum length of 2.5 centimetres. The blennies are generally bright yellow in colour, and males have black heads. They feed mostly on benthic invertebrates.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Yellow triplefin”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
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Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 0 records
- February: 1 records
- March: 7 records
- April: 30 records
- May: 14 records
- June: 6 records
- July: 9 records
- August: 13 records
- September: 1 records
- October: 10 records
- November: 8 records
- December: 1 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 3–29 m · Deepest record: 125 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 23–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Yellow triplefin, yellow triplefin
Other scientific names: Helcogramma abeli, Tripterygion abeli, Trypterygium abeli
Similar species
Blackthroat TriplefinEnneapterygius atrogulare

Black-cheek ThreefinEnneapterygius rufopileus
Highfin ThreefinEnneapterygius tutuilae
Hawaiian Blackhead TriplefinEnneapterygius atriceps

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).
- 144 open-data records from 1951 to 2011.
- Species data updated November 2, 2026.
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