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| NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
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Common Name: tessellated blenny
Synonyms and Other Names: None.
Taxonomy: available through 
Identification:
Dorsal fin XI-XII (12-13). Anal fin II (13-14). Numerous orange or brick-colored spots (smaller than the eye) cover most of the head, pectoral-fin base and anterior body over a bright blue background. The spots often merge on the top of the head to form a reticulated pattern (Smith-Vaniz, 1980; Hoese and Moore, 1998).
Smith-Vaniz (1980) revised the western Atlantic Hypsoblennius. A key to the Blenniidae of the western central Atlantic is given in Williams (2002); this key was modified for the Gulf of Mexico by McEachran and Fechhelm (2005). Gulf species can also be keyed with Hoese and Moore (1998). Meristics for adults and larvae were given by Ditty et al. (2005). Larvae of five common Gulf of Mexico species are described and illustrated in Ditty et al. (2005).
Size: To 5 cm (Hoese and Moore 1998)
Native Range:
Lesser Antilles, Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil. Possibly native to the north Gulf of Mexico, but generally thought to be introduced.
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Nonindigenous Occurrences: Established in the north Gulf of Mexico, including Alabama, Texas and Louisiana. Inhabits the tests of barnacles on oil platforms from Cameron, LA to south Texas (Hoese and Moore 1998) and off Dauphin Island, AL (Ditty et al. 2005). First documented from oil platforms off Cameron, LA and Galveston, TX in 1979; not present at Galveston before 1979 (Dennis and Bright 1988). In Florida, this species has been observed off Palm Beach (since 1992 [P. Humann, pers. comm.]), off Pompano Beach (in 2001 [Reef 2008]), near Key West (in 2001, 2003 and 2006 [Reef 2008]) near Boca Grande (in 2002 and 2004 [Reef 2008]), and in Biscanyne National Park (in 2005 and 2006 [Reef 2008]).
Ecology:
The species lives in empty barnacle tests of the Mediterranean barnacle (Megabalanus antillensis [= Balanus tintinnabulum]) on pilings and oil platforms. It is usually recorded from a depths of less than 4.5 m, but can rarely range to 18 m (Topolski and Szedlmayer 2004). Tessellated blennies are found in abundance where the hydroid Cnidoscyphus marginatus is abundant (Smith-Vaniz 1980). Males brood egg masses inside the barnacles (Smith-Vaniz 1980).
Work by Rauch (2000, 2003) has indicated that blenniid assemblages on petroleum platforms in the Gulf of Mexico are highly structured (through competition) and that little change occurs over time. Additionally, blenniid assemblages appear to remain relatively constant, even after the passage of a hurricane over the platforms (Rauch 2000, 2003).
Means of Introduction: Possibly introduced through shipping (either on barnacles attached to hulls or in ballast) or transport of oil rigs from South America.
Status: Established in the north Gulf of Mexico.
Impact of Introduction: Unknown.
Remarks: The Smithsonian (USNM) holds specimens from work on oil platforms off Louisiana of Dennis et al. (1979) and Rauch (2000). Specimens from the native range have been deposited at the USNM and the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Dennis, G. D., III and T. J. Bright. 1988. New records of fishes in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, with notes on some rare species. Northeast Gulf Science 10: 1-18.
Ditty, J. G., R. F. Shaw and L. A. Fuiman. 2005. Larval development of five species of blenny (Teleostei: Blenniidae) from the western central North Atlantic, with a synopsis of blennioid family characters. Journal of Fish Biology 66: 1261-1284.
Hoese, H. D. and R. H. Moore. 1998. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Texas, Louisiana, and Adjacent Waters. 2nd Edition. Texas A & M University Press, College Station, TX.
McEachran, J. D. and J. D. Fechhelm. 2005. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 2: Scorpaeniformes to Tetraodontiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX.
Rauch, T. J. 2000. Blennies on offshore petroleum platforms in the Gulf of Mexico: Factors influencing assemblage structure. Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS. 101 pp.
Rauch, T. J. 2003. Equilibrial blenniid assemblages on offshore petroleum platforms. Environmental Biology of Fishes 68: 301-305.
Reef. 2008. Reef Environmental Education Foundation. Exotic species sighting programs and volunteer database. World wide web electronic publication. www.reef.org, date of download March 10, 2008.
Smith-Vaniz, W. F. 1980. Revision of Western Atlantic species of the Blenniid fish genus Hypsoblennius. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Science, Philadelphia 132: 285-305.
Topolski, M. F. and S. T. Szedlmayer. 2004. Vertical distribution, size structure, and habitat associations of four Blenniidae species on gas platforms in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico. Environmental Biology of Fishes 70: 193-201.
Williams, J. T. 2002. Blenniidae. Pages 1768 – 1772 in: Carpenter, Kent E., (Ed.). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 3. Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation, Rome.
Other Resources:
FishBase Fact Sheet
Author: Schofield, Pamela J.
Revision Date: 1/7/2009 Citation for this information:
Schofield, Pamela J.. 2009. Hypsoblennius invemar. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=2638> Revision Date: 1/7/2009
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