fringe blenny

About this species

The ringneck blenny is a species of combtooth blenny widespread in coastal waters of Eastern Atlantic from Spain and Portugal to Möwe Bay, Namibia, in the Mediterranean Sea from Morocco, Algeria, Spain. In the Southwest Atlantic it is found near Brazil and Patagonia, Argentina. Also in Western Indian Ocean from Natal to Knysna in South Africa. This species reaches a length of 12.7 centimetres (5.0 in) SL. It is the type species of the genus Parablennius

Text from the Wikipedia article “Ringneck blenny”, 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: 492 records
February: 511 records
March: 452 records
April: 567 records
May: 384 records
June: 509 records
July: 765 records
August: 1,041 records
September: 536 records
October: 388 records
November: 164 records
December: 143 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–12 m · Deepest record: 58 m

0–10 m: 1,487 records
10–20 m: 340 records
20–30 m: 13 records
30–40 m: 11 records
40–50 m: 12 records
50–60 m: 29 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 13–26 °C

12–14 °C: 3 records
14–16 °C: 0 records
16–18 °C: 13 records
18–20 °C: 5 records
20–22 °C: 229 records
22–24 °C: 90 records
24–26 °C: 4 records

Photos

(c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Yves Bas, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) John Hepburn, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Thierry254, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Fran Gonzalez, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: fringe blenny, Hairy-horned Blenny, Ringneck blenny

Names in 3 more languages

German: Vandervekeni-schleimfisch, Variabler Schleimfisch
Spanish: Blenio Cornudo, Moma
French: Blennie pilicorne

Other scientific names: Blennius ater, Blennius fascigula, Blennius filicornis, Blennius niger, Blennius pantherinus, Blennius pilicornis, Blennius trifascigula, Blennius vandervekeni, Pictiblennius niger

Similar species

False Tasmanian Blenny
Parablennius intermedius
crested blenny
Parablennius laticlavius
Blenny
Parablennius tasmanianus
horned blenny
Parablennius cornutus
False Tasmanian Blenny
Parablennius postoculomaculatus
Yatabe Blenny
Parablennius yatabei

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).
3,890 open-data records from 1910 to 2023.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.