Blennies

The companion of every dive, Blennies will come to you and wave their fins, they love to be in front of the camera. There are about everywhere around the rocks of the Alboran sea (Mediterranean Sea). They are vey curious fish, when the diver approach they come to have a closer look at him.

Family:

A blenny is a member of a large suborder of teleost fish called the Blennioidei. The suborder has about 833 species in 130 genera.

Description:

Blennies are generally small fish. They have long bodies, and relatively large eyes and mouths. Their dorsal fins are continuous and long. The pelvic fins have a single embedded spine, and are short and slender. The tail fin is rounded.
The blunt heads of blennies often have whisker-like structures called cirri. As generally benthic fish, blennioids spend much of their time on or near the sea floor.

Blennies feed on small invertebrates, though some are herbivorous.

Locations:

The common blenny locate in rockpool, cracks or crevice or under a rock or within a weed bed.
We see this funny fish on each ScubaCourse costa del sol dive along the coast of Marbella, San Pedro de Alcantara, Estepona, Casares, Manilva, San Luis de Sabinillas, Torregiadiaro, Sotogrande, Alcaidesa , San Roque, Algeciras, Tarifa.

Other Facts:

The male Blenny attracts a female with a courtship display to a nest site. Male common blennies usually change colour in the spring/summer breeding season, and females will lay eggs under rocks in the intertidal zone. Males will stay near to the eggs to guard them until they hatch. Common blenny can live for at least ten years, and it is thought that some species may be able to live for as long as 15 – 20 years.

a curiosity:

Provided the environment is damp and moist and contains weed cover this species is capable of living out of water for many hours. Indeed, common blennies can sometimes be observed completely out of the water, making their way across seaweed or between rocks, with this amphibious behaviour leading to the shanny being given the alternative name of the sea frog.

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