Sarcastic Fringehead
The sarcastic fringehead (Neoclinus blanchardi) is a small, aggressive fish of the Pacific coast of North America, which defends its burrow by opening its enormous mouth in a threat display. The mouth can gape wider than the fish's head.
The sarcastic fringehead (Neoclinus blanchardi) is a small, aggressive fish of the Pacific coast of North America, which defends its burrow by opening its enormous mouth in a threat display. The mouth can gape wider than the fish's head.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Sarcastic Fringehead in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Vertebrates lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Mouth Wrestling: A Ritual Fight
When two fringeheads meet, each flares its mouth and the pair press mouths together in a contest of strength, with the larger fish usually winning. The fight avoids damage from bites.
Home Is a Crevice
The fish lives in crevices, empty shells and even discarded bottles on the seafloor and darts out to ambush prey. Males guard clusters of eggs in the burrow.
The Name
The "fringe" refers to the fleshy tentacles above the eyes. Its Latin name honors the American naturalist Blanchard.
Sarcastic Fringehead at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Neoclinus blanchardi |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Actinopterygii |
| Order | Blenniiformes |
| Family | Chaenopsidae |
| Field Guide group | Marine and Freshwater Fish |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Slender benthic blenny body, enormous elastic jaws unfurling into an intimidating colorful circular gape during mouth-wrestling territorial duels. |
| IUCN Red List status | Least Concern (LC), assessed 2014 |
| Family | Chaenopsidae |
| Maximum length | About 25 centimeters |
See Also
- Ocellaris Clownfish — another territorial reef fish
- Natural selection — ritualized fighting