The Biology of Blennies. 2009. (R.A. Patzner, E.J. Goncalves, P.A. Hastings and B.G. Kapoor) Science Publishers, Enfield, NH., 482 pp., $139.50 Blennies are fascinating little creatures. In the course of their evolution they have modified themselves to take advantage of a wide variety of ecological niches. They are not active swimmers but are adept at finding and adapting to hiding places. Within their general environment, the tropical marine and warm-temperate waters, they may be found beneath rocks or gravel, on the fronds of kelp and the blades of sea grasses, on the roots of mangroves, within the tentacles of sea anemones, and occupying the vacant shells and tubes of a wide variety of invertebrates. Blennies are also found on coral reefs, where various species inhabit live corals, dead corals and sea fans. Many of the genera and families exhibit drastic structural changes that reflect their long-term adaptations to certain habitats. Blennies belong to the suborder Blennioidei, an exceedingly diverse clade with six families and almost 900 recognized species. It has a circumglobal distribution primarily in shallow, intertidal or subtidal waters. But some species have penetrated cold waters, freshwaters, and the pelagic realm. In the past, there has been considerable confusion as to exactly what a blenny is and how it is related to other fish groups that occupy similar habitats. This work serves to clear the confusion to some extent but many important questions remain unanswered. The book’s contents consist of six sections: systematics, biogeography, feeding and sensory systems, reproduction and development, ecology and behavior, and a list of the species. Compared to investigations published on other fish clades, there is little information on morphology or physiology. Within the systematics section, the first chapter by P.A. Hastings and V.G. Springer is devoted to the suborder Blennioidei and its six included families, although only four families are listed in the chapter title. The suborder is defined using a series of skeletal characters but unfortunately none of these are illustrated. Instead, the reader is referred to Springer (1993). There is an informative discussion of the outgroup relationships of the Blennioidei but, again, the various osteological and muscular characters described are difficult to visualize without illustrations. Within the first chapter, the systematics of four families (Dactyloscopidae, Clinidae, Chaenopsidae, Labrisomidae) are described in detail. The remaining two families (Blennidae, Tripterygiidae) are assigned individual chapters. Of the four families discussed in the first chapter, the Dactyloscopidae or sand stargazers are perhaps the most interesting. They live buried in the sand with only their protuberant eyes exposed. And they possess Environ Biol Fish (2010) 87:89–92 DOI 10.1007/s10641-010-9583-3
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May 27, 2010
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