Black-banded Blenny
Meiacanthus grammistes
- Usual depth1–18 m
- Water temperature22–30 °C
- Best monthsApril, May, and November
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) desertnaturalist, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by desertnaturalist · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Meiacanthus grammistes, the striped blenny, also called the striped fang blenny, grammistes blenny, line-spot harptail blenny or striped poison-fang blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny from the western Pacific Ocean. The fish stays in the open ocean, but travels into shallow saltwater and brackish estuaries. This venomous species occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Meiacanthus grammistes”, 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: 36 records
- February: 42 records
- March: 49 records
- April: 71 records
- May: 80 records
- June: 39 records
- July: 40 records
- August: 48 records
- September: 55 records
- October: 48 records
- November: 74 records
- December: 44 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–18 m · Deepest record: 36 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 22–30 °C
Photos
(c) Ro Hill, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) PampaSorro, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ben Costamagna, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Black-banded Blenny, creamy striped blenny, Grammistes Blenny, Linespot Fangblenny, Line-spot Harp-tail, Line-spot Harptail Blenny, striped blenny, Striped Fangblenny, Striped Poison-fang Blenny
Names in 5 more languages
- German
- Dreistreifen-Säbelzahnschleimfisch
- French
- Blennie à rayures
- Japanese
- Higenijigimpo, ヒゲニジギンポ
- Thai
- ปลาตั๊กแตนหินลายแถบ
- Simplified Chinese
- 黑帶稀棘䲁
Other scientific names: Blennechis grammistes, Petroskirtes temminckii
Similar species
Eyelash FangblennyMeiacanthus atrodorsalis
Doublepore FangblennyMeiacanthus ditrema
- Freshwater Fangblenny
Meiacanthus anema
Mimic blennyAspidontus taeniatus
Black BlennyAtrosalarias holomelas
Bluespotted BlennyBlenniella chrysospilos
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).
- 943 open-data records from 1936 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 27, 2026.
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