Ecsenius australianus

Australian combtooth blenny
Ecsenius australianus
Ecsenius australianus, QLD, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Ecsenius australianus
Ecsenius australianus, QLD, Australia, Photo: Joe Shields
Ecsenius australianus
Ecsenius australianus, Agincourt Reef, QLD, Photo: Graham Edgar
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Ecsenius australianus
Ecsenius australianus
Ecsenius australianus

Distribution


Description

Broad, dark stripes and bands offset pale spots on body; dark post-orbital band extends to the opercular margin, and is not continuous with a dusky body stripe. Similar species E. fourmanoiri exhibits a dark, curving opercular band or 'chinstrap', which is either absent or very faint in E. australianus. Pale stripes are continuous through eye, with another slender stripe extending a short distance dorsally just above the eye. Originally described as occurring only on the northern Great Barrier Reef. 


Information

Max Size: 6 cm

Sea Temperature Range: N/A

Depth: N/A

Habitat Generalization Index: 1.27

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Not Evaluated

Occurrence: Infrequent (6.6% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Few (2 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.