The Eggs and Nesting Habits of the Crested Blenny, Anoplarchus

Abstract

F OR nearly a half century the eggs and nesting habits of Blennius gunnellus L., the butter fish of the North Atlantic, have been know . Smith (1886 and 1887) published the first accounts, and many other publications have followed in recent years. The breeding habits of the blennies in other regions seem to have been neglected. A review of the available literature shows but one reference to this subject in South Africa (Gilchrist and Thompson 1910), and one reference in the North Pacific region, that by Metz. The latter author (1912: 57) states in regard to Xerepes fucorum: One specimen was found coiled around a mass of eggs placed in a small depression in the rock, and well concealed by the matted grass above. The figure [referring to Plate II, fig. D., p. 63] shows a photograph of the egg mass with the fish around it, (not in situ). This specimen was probably seen in July. Dr. Hubbs tells us that he once found an adult of Cebidichthys violaceus in a crevice, coiled about its large mass of eggs. Because of this scanty information on the breeding habits of blennies in the North Pacific it seems desirable to describe the nest of the crested blenny, Anoplarchus purpurescens purpurescens Gill, as found at Seattle, Washington. A typical crested blenny habitat occurs at Lincoln Park, in Seattle. The beach here is composed of loose stones which range in size up to seven inches. The larger stones have become partly embedded in the bottom because the wave action is not strong enough to shift them from place to place. By turning over loose stones near the water's edge during any minus tide, numerous blennies will be seen. The larger spaces under the more loosely associated stones are occupied by crabs; and the blennies occur among the crevices of the more closely fitting stones, but the two are seldom found together under the same stone. Anoplarchus purpurescens purpurescens, a robust dark-colored form, is much less active when disturbed than the more slender species, as Pholis ornatus and Pholis laetus. Epigeichthys atropurpureus and Oligocottus maculosus rarely are found under the stones here, but Caularchus maeandricus, the cling-fish, is very common. On February 27 we observed at the Lincoln Park beach that certain individuals of the crested blenny had their abdomens greatly distended with eggs. The two sexes of Anoplarchus were colored differently: the anal fin of the male was bright red to scarlet, that of the female dull gray; the back along the dorsal fin of the male was plain grayish to black, that of the female showed distinct grayish white blotches. Females with ripe eggs and males in breeding colors occurred under the same group of stones. This caused us to look carefully for nests. After turning over many stones, a single cluster of eggs of the crested blenny was found at about the mean low tidal level. This nest of eggs occurred under a 6-inch stone, supported on each side by smaller stones. The bottom was composed of small pebbles