Madeira Canary Islands Azores – Fishes Dr. Peter Wirtz

Most blennies feed on small animals. The Morocco blenny, however, grazes on green algae in very shallow
water. One is therefore more likely to see it when snorkling than when diving. Photo Peter Wirtz.
Brown blenni (Parablennius incognitus)
Up to 7 cm long. Madeira, Canary Islands, Azores. 0 – 10 m depth.
At Madeira, the Canary Islands and the Azores, this is not a common species. The tentacles over the eyes are
much longer in the male than in the female. A light, diagonal line below the dark spot on the cheeks. The
Brown blenny can reach an age of seven years. Photo Peter Wirtz.
Gray blenny (Lipophrys trigloides)
Up to 12 cm long. Madeira, Canary Islands, Azores. 0 – 2 m depth.
During the day Gray blennies sits in the splash zone or in large tide pools. At night, they sometimes sleep
above (!) the water line, where they are moistened only occasionally by a wave. Photo Peter Wirtz.
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Redlip blenny (Ophioblennius atlanticus)
Up to 20 cm long. Madeira, Canary Islands, Azores. 1 – 15 m depth.
The Redlip blenny is the largest of the blennies in the Atlantic. It feeds on plants, which it scrapes off the rock
with a comb of many small teeth. In the first ten meters water depth it can be quite common. In summer,
males defend a cavity or depression in the rock as a territory and court passing females by vigorous nodding
of the head. Females deposit eggs in the territory and leave. It is the male that cleans and defends the eggs and
continues to attract females during all of summer. The male in the photo sits on several egg clutches, which
differ in colour, depending on their age and thus the developmental stage of the larvae inside the eggs. After
hatching, the larvae spend several weeks in the plankton before they settle to a bottom-living lifestyle on