pasiphila dryas is a moth in the geometridae family .

it is endemic to new zealand .

adults are on wing in december and january .

the forewings are dull rosy-brown with numerous obscure blackish transverse lines .

the hindwings are grey , tinged with rosy-brown with numerous very faint blackish transverse lines .

pasiphila dryas

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[ read before the philosophical institute of canterbury , 6th november , 1890 . ]
were all taken in the neighbourhood of wellington by mr . g . v . hudson , and i am indebted to his kindness for the specimens which i have described ; he himself possesses other similar specimens .
♀ 20mm . head and thorax whitish - ochreous , reddish - tinged . palpi 4 ½ , grey , becoming ochreous - whitish towards base . antennæ whitish - ochreous , dotted with blackish above . ( abdomen broken . ) legs whitish , anterior pair partially infuscated . forewings oblong , costa very strongly arched on anterior half , thence rather deeply sinuate posteriorly , apex obtuse , hindmargin sinuate beneath apex , hardly oblique , rounded beneath ; ferruginous , suffused with purplish - fuscous towards costa ; a whitish - ochreous streak along costa from before middle to ¾ , attenuated to a point at extremities ( appearing to exaggerate costal sinuation ) : cilia ferruginous ,
mixed with dark fuscous . hindwings whitish , posteriorly faintly ochreous - tinged , with faint traces of greyish speckling .
one specimen . the generic position requires to be confirmed by the knowledge of the ♂ .
[ the section below cannot be correctly rendered as it contains complex formatting . see the image of the page for a more accurate rendering . ]
three specimens . the species is closely allied to h . cryodana and h . epomiana , but appears to be certainly distinct from both , and constant .
♂ ♀ . 24–27mm . head and thorax pale ochreous or reddish - ochreous . palpi and antennæ whitish - ochreous . abdomen pale whitish - ochreous . legs ochreous - whitish , anterior pair infuscated . forewings moderate , suboblong , in ♂ somewhat dilated posteriorly , costa moderately arched , apex rounded - obtuse , hindmargin slightly oblique , rounded beneath ; light brownish - ochreous , in ♀ partially or wholly suffused with deep reddish - ochreous and more or less ( sometimes densely ) sprinkled with dark fuscous ; costal edge bright ferruginous ; an indistinct dark fuscous dot in disc at ⅔ , a second on fold directly beneath first , and a third in disc at ⅔ , all sometimes very obscure ; a very strongly outwards - curved and bent series of blackish dots from ⅔ of costa to ¾ of inner margin , more or less obsolete towards extremities ; a much interrupted blackish hindmarginal line : cilia pale reddish - ochreous , above apex ferruginous . hindwings pale whitish - ochreous , more tinged
with pale yellowish - ochreous posteriorly ; inner margin broadly suffused with rather dark grey ; some dark grey scales on hindmargin ; cilia pale whitish - ochreous .
head rough on crown , face smooth ; ocelli present ; tongue well developed . antennæ over 1 , in ♂— ( ? ) , basal joint moderate , without pecten . labial palpi long , smooth , re - curved , second joint tolerably slender , terminal joint as long as second , acute . maxillary palpi rudimentary . posterior tibiæ shortly rough - haired above , more strongly beneath . forewings with vein 1 long - furcate , 2 from near angle , 3 and 4 from a point , 7 absent , 8 and 9 stalked , 11 from before middle . hindwings 1 , elongate - ovate , cilia ½ ; veins 3 and 4 from a point , 5 remote , 6 and 7 parallel .
a peculiar genus of somewhat uńaertain location , not closely approaching any other known to me .
♀ . 16mm . head , palpi , antennæ , thorax , abdomen , and legs ochreous - whitish ; anterior and middle legs banded with dark fuscous . forewings elongate , rather narrow , costa moderately arched , apex tolerably pointed , hindmargin slightly sinuate , oblique ; pale whitish - ochreous , with a few scattered fuscous scales ; a cloudy irregular elongate dark fuscous dot beneath costa near base , two obliquely placed in disc at ¼ , four forming a straight oblique series from middle of disc to before middle of inner margin , and two transversely placed in disc above anal angle : cilia ochreous - whitish , with a small black spot at apex . hindwings and cilia whitish .
one specimen ; unfortunately it is in somewhat poor condition , but i believe the characters given are essentially correct .
head rough - haired ; ocelli present ; no tongue . antennæ ⅘ , in ♂— ( ? ) , basal joint moderate , with small pecten . labial palpi moderate , straight , porrected , second joint with rather long projecting scales beneath and some apical bristles above , terminal joint shorter than second , obtuse . maxillary palpi moderately long , filiform . posterior tibiæ clothed with very long hairs above . forewings with vein 1 furcate , 2 from rather near angle , 5 absent , 7 absent , 11 from before middle of cell , apex of wing bent up . hindwings 1 , lanceolate , cilia ⅔–1 ; veins 3 and 4 remote , 5 and 6 stalked , 6 to costa .
defined originally to include a species from the south pacific islands , with which the following agrees entirely in essential structure , although differing much in superficial appearance . the genus belongs to the group of erechthias , which i formerly separated as a distinct family ( erechthiadæ ) , but i am now of opinion that , although a very natural group , it cannot be kept separate from the tineidæ .
♀ . 10mm . head fuscous , face whitish - fuscous . palpi , antennæ , thorax , abdomen , and legs dark fuscous , apex of tarsal joints whitish - ochreous . forewings lanceolate ; dark fuscous , strewn with blackish scales with ochreous - whitish tips ; a moderate rather irregular whitish - ochreous spot on costa beyond middle : cilia rather dark fuscous , mixed with blackish round apex . hindwings rather dark bronzy - fuscous ; cilia fuscous .
one specimen ; it is not in good condition , but is so distinct as to be easily recognisable .
♂ . 11mm . head white , lower part of face and two streaks on crown dark fuscous . palpi blackish , terminal joint white with a black subbasal ring . antennæ ochreous - white , obscurely dotted with dark fuscous , with a dark fuscous band about ¾ . thorax blackish , with three longitudinal streaks and inner half of patagia white . abdomen grey . legs blackish , ringed with whitish ( posterior pair broken ) . forewings elongate , costa gently arched , apex round - pointed , hind - margin extremely obliquely rounded ; blackish - fuscous ; a very irregular pale ochreous streak from base along fold to ⅓ , thence along inner margin to near anal angle ; from apex of this proceeds a zigzag ochreous - whitish line near hindmargin to costa at ⅚ : cilia whitish - fuscous , towards base barred with dark fuscous and whitish . hindwings grey ; cilia pale grey .
one specimen . although s . phortegella varies much , i have not seen any form at all nearly approaching this .
♀ . 14mm . head , palpi , antennæ , thorax , and abdomen dark fuscous ; palpi short ; antennal ciliations 3 . legs dark fuscous , ringed with whitish - ochreous . forewings elongate , moderate , costa gently arched , sinuate in middle , apex rounded , hindmargin very obliquely , slightly rounded ; dark fuscous ; a
subquadrate pale brownish - ochreous spot on inner margin before middle , and a smaller one before anal angle : cilia dark fuscous . hindwings and cilia dark fuscous .
one specimen . it comes nearest to m . cratæa , but differs from that species by the absence of costal spots and of pale irroration .
i have been led to modify my conclusions with regard to some of the species in this genus by the examination of a number of specimens sent by mr . a . purdie , of dunedin , and of those in the british museum collection ; the group is certainly puzzling from the great variability of most of the species , but i think the following alterations may be made : —
boarmia rudiata , walk . ( cidaria rudisata , walk . , 1420 ; boarmia astrapia , meyr . , trans . n . z . inst . , 1889 , 218 . )
walker ' s name , which i had overlooked on account of the bad condition of the specimen , should , i think , be substituted for mine : but i have altered its extraordinary orthography .
the species described by me as b . lupinata , feld . , appears not to be the true lupinata ; it must therefore bear the above name , and usitata , butl . , is correctly referred as a synonym of it . it is a very variable insect , but is usually easily recognisable by the characteristic form of the second line . when dark longitudinal streaks are present , they lie on the submedian fold , and not along the inner margin itself .
this appears to be a good species , distinct from any other . i do not possess a specimen , but have seen two or three from dunedin . it is somewhat larger than the last , with the forewings of rather a peculiar light brownish - grey colour ( perhaps variable ) , indistinctly marked somewhat as in b . rudiata , with a dark streak along the inner margin , and the subterminal line appearing ( through its conjunction with a pale apical streak ) to terminate in apex .
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pholidichthys leucotaenia , commonly known as the convict blenny/goby or the engineer blenny/goby , is a marine fish from the west-central pacific ocean .

it is neither a blenny nor a goby , but is in fact one of two species in the family pholidichthyidae .

pholidichthys leucotaenia

see talk : pholidichthys leucotaenia for individual experiences with this species , pholidichthys leucotaenia . feel free to add your own personal experiences .
chlupaty , peter . undated . pholidichthys leucotaenia - the white - striped eel goby . aquarium digest intl . # 34 .
brittan , m . 1972 . the convict blenny , pholidichthys leucotaenia bleeker . tropical fish hobbyist 21 ( nov . ) : 60 - 64 .
convict blenny , family pholidichthyidae ; one species , pholidichthys leucotaenia ( wirtz 1991 ) , southwest philippines to solomon islands . juveniles and adults in captivity .
this fish is an absolute delight . pholidichthys leucotaenia , variously called the convict or engineer goby / blenny is neither a goby or a blenny , but still a very interesting aquarium specimen .
wirtz , peter . 1991 . goby or blenny ? does the larva of pholidichthys leucotaenia give a clue to the systematic position of the monotypic fish family pholidichthyidae ? tfh 10 / 91 .
wirtz , p . 1991 . goby or blenny ? does the larva of pholidichthys leucotaenia give a clue to the systematic position of the monotypic fish family pholidichthyidae ? tropical fish hobbyist 40 ( oct . ) : 76 - 78 , 80 .
( of pholidichthys leucotaeinea bleeker , 1856 ) froese , r . & d . pauly ( editors ) . ( 2018 ) . fishbase . world wide web electronic publication . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
springer , v . g . & h . larson 1996 . pholidichthys anguis , a new species of pholidichthyid fish from northern territory and western australia . proceedings of the biological society of washington 109 ( 2 ) : 353 - 365 .
it’s pholidichthys leucotaenia , the convict fish . it’s sometimes called a convict benny or a worm goby , but it’s neither a blenny nor goby , but in its own fish family . it looks like a goby in the front , but like a tiny eel in the back . these fishes are about 2 - 5 cm short when they are juveniles , and they swarm in active schools over the reef without changing the school location much . there are typically several hundred fishes in one such school , often of the same size .
while the juveniles are swarming and feeding on plankton , the adult is living in a burrow which it digs in coral rubble . the adult never leaves this burrow , it seems ! instead , it is being fed by the juveniles , which it swallows as a whole – and later spits out again in one piece , after they vomited out their stomach contents ( see burrow distribution and diel behavior of the coral reef fish pholidichthys leucotaenia , clark et al . , 2006 ) . so , there is a division of labor between the generations .
hastings , p . & v . g . springer 2002 . pholidichthys anguilliformis lockington , 1881 ( teleostei : pholidae ) , a junior synonym of pholis ornata ( girard , 1854 ) . proceedings of the biological society ofwashington 115 ( 3 ) : 543 - 545 .
is eminently easy with this species . most all specimens are in superlative health . pholidichthys ship and adapt well to captive conditions . look for and buy them in a small group ( they are social animals ) , of three or five individuals if your system has sufficient size .
engineer gobies are unusual amongst coral fishes in their total lack of antagonism toward other fishes or invertebrates . they will eat very small fishes , crustaceans and worms , but otherwise leave larger - than - mouth size organisms totally alone . reciprocally , all but the meanest of fishes leave them be , letting
live and let live
with the pholidichthys residing in their dug out caverns and caves .
phylogenetic inferences from the gene tree parsimony “species tree” analysis were largely congruent with those from the 10 - gene raxml analyses ( fig . 2 ) . specifically , ovalentaria , atherinomorpha , the clade containing grammatidae , opistognathidae , gobiesocidae , and blennioidei , and the monophyly of pholidichthys and cichlidae were supported in the gene tree parsimony phylogeny and supported with high bootstrap values ( fig . 5 ) . as in the raxml analysis of the 10 - gene dataset , relationships among the major ovalentarian clades were unresolved . labridae was resolved in a poorly supported clade that also contained gerreidae , centrogenys , polyprionidae , pinguipedidae , and uranoscopidae .
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froese , r . & d . pauly ( editors ) . ( 2018 ) . fishbase . world wide web electronic publication . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
( of brotulophis argentistriatus kaup , 1858 ) froese , r . & d . pauly ( editors ) . ( 2018 ) . fishbase . world wide web electronic publication . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
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bigger pix : the images in this table are linked to large ( desktop size ) copies . click on
framed
images to go to the larger size .
a good - sized system ( at least a hundred gallons for three specimens ) with plenty of rock d ? or that is , importantly , set right on the bottom in a secure manner . all heavy objects should be set in the tank first , and substrate placed after… to prevent toppling as this species is superb in its undermining activity ( hence the name
engineer
) .
engineer gobies eagerly consume all types of foods . getting them to feed on novel items is simply a matter of introducing them down near their favorite haunt / s .
this is a scaleless species that doesn ' t take well to exposure to harsh chemical treatments . usually copper or formalin - containing medications are more toxic than a parasitic disease . best to avoid having to use these altogether by quarantining new fishes for a good two weeks , assuring yourself that you ' ve excluded the common external complaints of reef fishes .
this fish has spawned in captivity and the young reared ( see wirtz 1991 ) . apparent pairs are formed that produce clutches of 400 - 500 young of about 6 mm . in length that lack a planktonic phase and are protected by their parents for about a month and a half . after this time they young are disbursed by the adults .
marine ; reef - associated ; depth range 3 - 30 m ( ref . 90102 ) , usually 10 - 20 m ( ref . 27115 ) . tropical ; 22°c - 28°c ( ref . 27115 ) ; 21°n - 27°s , 109°e - 168°e
western central pacific : philippines south to the solomon islands . absent from australia .
maturity : l m ? range ? - ? cm max length : 34 . 0 cm tl male / unsexed ; ( ref . 9710 )
inhabits shallow lagoon and coastal reefs ( ref . 9710 , 48635 ) . forms schools that are often found under ledges or around coral heads ( ref . 9710 ) . swim in tight formation to look like a single large body ( ref . 48635 ) . juveniles resemble the venomous striped catfish plotosus lineatus . adults live secretively in reefs and have a barred or spotted color pattern ( ref . 48635 ) .
nelson , j . s . , 1984 . fishes of the world . 2nd edition . john wiley & sons , inc . , new york . 523 p . ( ref . 245 )
) : 26 . 9 - 29 , mean 28 ( based on 162 cells ) .
phylogenetic diversity index ( ref . 82805 ) : pd 50 = 1 . 0000 [ uniqueness , from 0 . 5 = low to 2 . 0 = high ] .
bayesian length - weight : a = 0 . 00389 ( 0 . 00180 - 0 . 00842 ) , b = 3 . 12 ( 2 . 94 - 3 . 30 ) , in cm total length , based on all lwr estimates for this body shape ( ref . 93245 ) .
trophic level ( ref . 69278 ) : 3 . 5 ±0 . 2 se ; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
vulnerability ( ref . 59153 ) : low vulnerability ( 18 of 100 ) .
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my two year + old engineer gobys . need to be sold ! too small for the tank
this species poses a threat towards shrimps and crabs etc . , which are relatively small .
when the fish can find its natural food in the aquarium it requires less frequent feeding .
this species can be bred in captivity , one can therefore consider asking your local fish store for a captive bred specimen .
when young these fish have horizontal stripes , but as they grow , the pattern changes and the stripes become more vertical .
should be kept in an aquarium where there is enough sand for it to make a small cave .
convict blennies ( pholidichthydiae ) live in small holes in the sand and rocks . at first they live on only zooplankton , but as they become larger they also start eating fish and crustaceans .
provided with the right environment these fish are a nice and unique addition to an aquarium .
one should be aware that these fish dig into the bottom so that sand and debris whirls around in a tank . if one wishes an aquarium where the debris does not accumulate in one place , this is the obvious choice .
scott w . michael . reef aquarium fishes : 500 + essential - to - know species - tfh publications / microcosm ltd . - ( english ) bob fenner . convict blennies , family pholidichthyidae - wet web media - ( english )
froese , r . and d . pauly . editors . 2014 . fishbase . world wide web electronic publication . urltoken , version ( 08 / 2014 ) .
minimum volume
indicates the size of the tank needed to house this species under optimal conditions .
this is based on a medium size animal , which you want to keep for several years . it might be possible to keep smaller specimens for a limited period in a smaller tank . a larger tank might be needed for fully - grown specimens .
hardiness
indicates how resistant this species is to disease and how well i tolerates bad conditions in general . some species doesn ' t handle transportation very well , but that doesn ' t mean that the species isn ' t hardy under the right conditions .
in this case , a
normal
aquarium is a reef aquarium with mixed corals or a fish only aquarium with an approximately salinity of 1 . 026 ( sg ) and a temperature close to 26°c . species requiring more than a 4000 - liter tank are considered not suitable for home aquarium .
special aquariums may cover tanks with low salinity , sub - tropical temperature , deep sand bed , sea grass etc .
always reef safe : no sources indicate that this species will harm corals or other invertebrates .
often reef safe : only a few aquarists has reported problems keeping this species with corals and other invertebrates .
reef safe with caution : this species may be a threat to some types of invertebrates .
reef safe with luck : most specimens will harm corals and / or other invertebrates , but you might be lucky .
not reef safe : this species is a threat to most corals and / or other invertebrates .
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disclaimer : itis taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available , and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties . however , it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes . while every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up - to - date information available , ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the united states is a party , wildlife statutes , regulations , and any applicable notices that have been published in the federal register . for further information on u . s . legal requirements with respect to protected taxa , please contact the u . s . fish and wildlife service .
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even though these fish are called engineer gobies and convict blennies , they aren & apos ; t actually gobies or blennies at all . they belong to another family . . .
specificationsmpn1106 - gobymanufacturerthat fish placecommon nameengineer goby - med . juv . scientific namepholidichthys leucotaeniadifficultyeasy to mod . . .
convict blenny , medium : over 1 . 5 - 3 . 5
, indo pacific
convict blenny , large : over 3 . 5 - 5 . 5
, indo pacific
convict blenny , x - large : over 5 . 5 - 6 . 5
, indo pacific
due to availability and individuality of each species , colors and sizes may vary .
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validated version of the best level of knowledge available at a given time . this category indicates a reliable picture of the distribution at the date of completion of the map with a good presumption of absence in areas where the taxa is not mentioned . example : atlas of amphibians and reptiles of metropolitan france .
set of controlled data from programs : includes validated data sets associated with current inventories or finalised inventories but partially incomplete . differs from the
reference distribution
primarily on the completeness and expertise collegiate . i . e . the data presented have a high reliability but do not necessarily represent the area of national distribution of taxa .
data sets for which the acquisition or organizational methodology does not meet the criteria to define an inventory for inpn . these data , originating from specialists and generally considered a priori to be reliable , are not yet integrated in a process of third - party validation . this data is often designed to integrate an inventory . example : data from cardobs , pre - sorted data from participatory science programs .
program data whose main purpose is not the inventory of species , but the classification of an area , especially protected areas or inventory perimeters . example : znieff g1 and g2 , natura 2000 , protected areas , apb .
national inventory of natural heritage , website : https : / / inpn . mnhn . fr .
eugenie clark , stephen n . kogge , diane r . nelson , thomas k . alburn and john f . pohle
aqua , international journal of ichthyology , pp . 45 - 82 , volume 12 , issue 2 – december 2006
allen , g . & t . warner 2002 . coral reef assessment in the ‘coral triangle’ of southeastern asia . environmental biology of fishes 65 : 209 - 214 .
anon . 2003 . the shark lady and the convict fish . mote news magazine 48 ( 2 ) : 14 - 15 .
bleeker , p . 1856 . bijdrage tot de kennis der ichthyologische fauna van het eiland boeroe . naturkundig tijdschrift voor nederlandsch indië , 11 : 383 - 447 .
boss , k . j . 1965 . symbiotic erycinacean bivalves . malacologia 3 ( 2 ) : 183 - 195 .
breder , c . m . 1976 . fish schools as operational structures . fishery bulletin , 74 ( 3 ) : 471 - 502 .
choat , j . h . 1991 . the biology of herbivorous fishes on coral reefs . in : p . f . sale ( ed . ) the ecology of fishes on coral reefs . academic press , san diego . 6 : 120 - 155 .
choat , j . h . & d . r . bellwood 1991 . reef fishes : their history and evolution . p . f . sale ( ed . ) the ecology of fishes on coral reefs . academic press , san diego . 3 : 39 - 66 .
clark , e . & r . petzold 1998 . spawning behavior of the collared knifefish , cymolutes torquatus ( labridae ) in papua new guinea . environmental biology of fishes 53 : 459 - 464 .
clark , e . & j . pohle 1992 . monogamy in tilefish . national geographic research and exploration 8 : 276 - 295 .
clark , e . & m . pohle 1996 . trichonotus halstead , a new sand - diving fish from papua new guinea . environmental biology of fishes 45 : 1 - 11 .
clark , e . , pohle , j . & b . halstead 1998 . the ecology and behavior of the tilefish hoplolatilus starcki , h . fronticinctus and related species ( malacanthidae ) : non - mound and mound builders . environmental biology of fishes 52 : 395 - 417 .
de beaufort , l . f . & w . m . chapman 1951 . the fishes of the indo - australian archipelago , ix percomorphi ( concluded ) , blennoidea , e . j . brill , leiden 9 : 447 - 448 .
frische , j . von & l . gessert 2006 . geheimnisvolle aalgrundeln . deutsche aquarien - und terrearienzeitschrift 59 : 38 - 42 .
garey , j . 2001 . personal communication . university of south florida , tampa , fl .
gorlick , d . l . 1980 . ingestion of host fish surface mucus by the hawaiian cleaning wrasse , labroides phthirophagus ( labridae ) , and its effect on host species preference . copeia 4 : 863 - 868 .
günther , a . 1861 . catalogue of the acanthopterygian fishes , volume 3 . london . 586 pp .
herre , a . w . 1953 . check list of philippines fishes . united states department of the interior , fish and wildlife service , research report 20 : 1 - 977 .
herre , a . w . & e . s . herald 1951 . noteworthy additions to the philippine fish fauna with description of a new genus and species . the philippine journal of science , 1950 79 ( 3 ) : 309 - 340 .
hobson , e . s . 1991 . chapter 4 . trophic relationships of fishes specialized to feed on zooplankters above coral reefs . pp . 69 - 95 . in : p . f . sale ( ed . ) the ecology of fishes on coral reefs , academic press , san diego .
jones , g . p . , ferrell , d . j . & p . f . sale 1991 . chapter 7 . fish predation and its impact on the invertebrates of coral reefs and adjacent sediments . pp . 156 - 179 . in : p . f . sale ( ed . ) the ecology of fishes on coral reefs , academic press , san diego .
kaufmann , c . 2005 . clues from a convict . national geographic 20 ( 6 ) : 84 - 89 .
knipper , h . 1955 . ein fall von ”kollektiver mimikry” . umschau 13 : 398 - 400 .
kume , g . , yamaguchi , a . & t . taniuchi 2000 . filial cannibalism in the paternal mouthbrooding cardinalfish apogon lineatus : egg production by the female as the nutrition source for the mouthbrooding male . environmental biology of fishes 58 : 233 - 236 .
magnus , d . b . e . , 1967 . zur deutung der igelstellung beim jungfisch - schwarm des korallenwelses , plotosus anguillares ( bloch ) ( pisces , nematognathi , plotosidae ) , im biotop . zoologischer anzeiger ( supplement - band ) 31 : 402 - 409 .
manica , a . 2002 . filial cannibalism in teleost fish . biological reviews , cambridge philosophical society ( 77 ) : 261 - 277 .
michaelis , k . 1972 . leopard blenny . vancouver public aquarium newsletter 16 ( 4 ) : 1 page [ unpaginated ] .
mikkelsen , p . m . & r . bieler 1989 . biology and comparative anatomy of divariscintilla yoyo and d . troglodytes , two new species of galeommatidae ( bivalvia ) from stomatopod burrows in eastern florida . malacologia 31 ( 1 ) : 175 - 195 .
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the fish fauna of sessile hydrophytes stands ( mourera spp . : podostemaceae ) in the dardanelos waterfalls , rio aripuanã , brazil
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this page that you have visited here is a stub of the rtaw reefpedia . that means that this page has been generated , but it is yet to contain the relevant information required . so it requires some work on content within it before it is completed .
the convict blenny is very slender and
eel like
in appearance it is predominantly black to dark blue and white , as they mature the horizontal stripes become vertical bars and blotches . although commonly named convict blenny and engineer goby they are actually from neither family and belong to the pholidichthyidae family
convict blennies may dig a series of tunnels and burrows in substrate around and under live rock , if introduced in groups they may form shoals . these fish mix well with most other species .
daily feeding of frozen , fresh or live mysis shrimp or brine shrimp , meaty prepared foods and commercially available pellets and flakes .
western central pacific : philippines south to the solomon islands . absent from australia . . . [ 1 ]
inhabits shallow lagoon and coastal reefs . forms schools that are often found under ledges or around coral heads .
some additional notes on it that don ' t fit in the above sections .
this page was last modified on 14 march 2011 , at 14 : 51 .
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i saw a very special fish on the reef yesterday . and it’s not even a goby .
in fact , i did not see a convict fish ( school ) only once lately . the coral reefs of moalboal are full of them . their schools typically line the steep reef walls we have here , up to a few meters off the corals , about 15 – 30 m deep . i haven’t seen them much in the really shallow parts of the reef .
i am suspecting a slight psychological effect in my recent frequent sightings of the convict fish . i might just notice them more than previously , due to recent discussions with fellow convict fish admirers , ned and anna deloach . it’s an effect any naturalist knows : if you read and think about one animal , your senses will be more sharpened to notice it in the wild .
2 years ago i wrote a paper which speculated about the causes for a peculiar absence in nature – the absence of eusocial fishes . eusocial means “individuals are so specialized that only some reproduce” . it’s the type of social specialization you find in ants and termites : only one or a few animals called “queens” lay eggs . the others work for the benefit of the colony – a division of labor between the generations . just like in the convict fish !
now , eusociality was thought not to exist in fishes . in my paper i argue that this is due to the physics and large - scale ecology of the ocean . basically , sibling fish are dispersed too widely to be able to cooperate later in life . but the convict fish might prove me wrong ! maybe it is in the early stages of eusociality , with the sole adult being a fish “queen” ? this is what fascinates anna , ned and me about the convict fish . and , as a good scientist , i of course like to be proven wrong ( by solid studies , in interesting ways ) .
so . if joe average diver swims across the reef , he will see many beautiful colors and shapes , and enjoy himself thoroughly . i am happy for joe . but when people like ned , anna or me swim over the reef , we see these shapes and colors , but we also see evolution , mimicry , symbiosis , parasitism , and maybe even eusociality . we see an amazing biodiversity , and how the animals making up this diversity interact and how they sort themselves into narrow ecological niches defined by depth , bottom composition and time of day . looking at the reef has become an intellectual pleasure in addition to an aesthetic pleasure . when we dive , we also savor the intriguing theoretical questions which come up with all these special animals in the sea .
as a reader of this blog , you are probably aware that i am teaching marine biology courses for interested laypeople at savedra . the aforementioned seeing of evolution , biodiversity and ecology is what i hope to teach !
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* correspondence to be sent to : department of evolution & ecology , university of california , one shields avenue , davis , ca 95616 , usa ; e - mail : pcwainwright @ urltoken .
peter c . wainwright , w . leo smith , samantha a . price , kevin l . tang , john s . sparks , lara a . ferry , kristen l . kuhn , ron i . eytan , thomas j . near ; the evolution of pharyngognathy : a phylogenetic and functional appraisal of the pharyngeal jaw key innovation in labroid fishes and beyond , systematic biology , volume 61 , issue 6 , 1 december 2012 , pages 1001–1027 , urltoken
the growing evidence that “labroids” are polyphyletic and the presence of all core “labroid” pharyngeal modifications in some beloniforms ( stiassny and jensen 1987 ) and the monotypic centrogenyidae ( springer and johnson 2004 ; personal communication ) argues for multiple origins of pharyngognathy within percomorphs . resolution of some basic features of the phylogenetics of percomorphs , broadly , and “labroids” specifically , coupled with a revision of pharyngeal jaw functional morphology would provide a basis for investigating several questions regarding the evolutionary origin and significance of this specialization in the diversification of teleost fishes .
in this study , we combined an analysis of functional diversity among pharyngognathous perch - like fishes with a phylogenetic analyses of 188 species based on dna sequence data collected from 10 protein - coding nuclear genes . our goals were to ( i ) test the monophyly and hypothesize the interrelationships of pharyngognathous percomorphs , generally , and “labroids” specifically ; ( ii ) determine by dissection and specimen manipulation whether or not each origin of pharyngognathy resulted in similar mechanisms of jaw action and whether this mechanism differs from what is found in nonpharyngognathous spiny - rayed fishes ; and ( iii ) estimate the number of independent origins of pharyngognathy among teleosts .
fish tissues used in dna extractions were preserved in 70–95 % ethanol or were obtained from museum collections . genomic dna was extracted from muscle or fin clips using a dneasy tissue extraction kit ( qiagen , valencia , ca ) . the polymerase chain reaction ( pcr ) was used to amplify 10 pcr fragments using primers provided in lópez et al . ( 2004 ) for rag1 exon 3 and li et al . ( 2007 ) for enc1 , glyt , myh6 , plagl2 , ptr , sh3px3 , sreb2 , tbr1 , and zic1 . double - stranded amplifications were performed in a 25 - μl volume containing 1 μl 25 mm mgcl 2 ( qiagen , valencia , ca ) , 2 . 5 μl 10× cl pcr buffer ( qiagen , valencia , ca ) , 2 . 5 μl q solution ( qiagen , valencia , ca ) , 0 . 5 μl 10 mm dntp mix , 0 . 5 μl of each primer at 10 μm , 0 . 3 μl taq dna polymerase ( invitrogen co . , carlsbad , ca ) , and 2 . 0 μl of dna template .
the double - stranded amplification products were desalted and concentrated using ampure ( agencourt biosciences , beverly , ma ) . both strands of the purified pcr fragments were used as templates for cycle sequencing and were read using a 3730xl dna analyzer ( applied biosystems , foster city , ca ) . contiguous sequences were built using sequencher ( gene codes , ann arbor , mi ) from dna sequences of the complementary heavy and light strands . all new dna sequences were submitted to genbank and assigned accession numbers jx188676 - jx190242 .
a species tree was estimated using gene tree parsimony implemented in igtp ( chaudhary et al . 2010 ) . the 10 raxml inferred gene trees were used as input files . the trees were rooted before use in igtp and several rooting strategies were used . the individual gene trees were rooted using polymixia lowei and p . japonica ; however , beryx decadactylus and hoplostethus atlanticus were used to root two gene trees where both species of polymixia were missing . a heuristic search using randomized hill climbing was performed to find the species tree that minimized the reconciliation cost for deep coalescence . this search was bootstrapped with 100 replicates and bootstrap proportions were calculated using sumtrees in the dendropy package ( sukumaran and holder 2010 ) .
we focused on two issues in reviewing pharyngeal jaw functional morphology . first , we wanted to estimate how many times pharyngognathy has evolved in perch - like fishes . second , we asked whether the functional morphology of the pharyngeal jaws is similar in the clades that exhibit pharyngognathy .
detailed observations were made on specimens that had been cleared and stained for bone and cartilage ( dingerkus and uhler 1977 ) , as well as fresh or formalin - preserved specimens . for each species , our aim was to determine the primary mechanisms of movement in the pharyngeal jaws . this was evaluated by manipulation of fresh and cleared and stained specimens , observing the orientation of joints and muscles , and noting the position of muscles that attach to the pharyngeal jaw elements .
phylogeny of 188 species of acanthomorpha inferred from a partitioned maximum likelihood analysis of a 10 - gene dataset using raxml . clade names identify lineages that were previously classified as labroidei ( cichlidae , embiotocidae , pomacentridae , and labridae ) . numbers at nodes report percent presence in a bootstrap analysis with 500 replicates . bootstrap values less than 70 % are not shown . the shaded portion of the phylogeny on the left side of the figure indicates placement of the expanded region of the acanthomorph phylogeny . arrows connect disconnected branches in the phylogeny . the phylogeny is presented in two parts , labeled a ) and b ) .
phylogeny of acanthomorpha that illustrates the congruence between the raxml phylogenies inferred from the 10 - gene dataset and the 10 individual gene trees . clades that were resolved in the individual gene trees , with the exception of nested missing taxa , are identified with the appropriately colored square above the node . for clades where the earliest diverging taxa were missing , the node was treated as missing ( i . e . , no colored square present ) . nodes where even a single terminal taxon was resolved outside of the clade in the individual gene tree resulted in the clade being scored as not present . the phylogeny is presented in two parts , labeled a ) and b ) .
labridae was resolved as monophyletic with strong bootstrap support , but the weakly supported labridae - gerreidae clade was resolved as the sister lineage of a large clade that included bembropidae , centrogenyidae , chaetodontidae , epinephelidae , haemulidae , leiognathidae , lethrinidae , lutjanidae , malacanthidae , moronidae , nemipteridae , percidae , pinguipedidae , polyprionidae , pomacanthidae , sciaenidae , scorpaenidae , serranidae , sparidae , uranoscopidae , acanthuroidei , gasterosteioidei , notothenioidei , cottiformes , lophiiformes , tetraodontiformes and near et al . ' s ( 2012 ) “centrarchiforms” . the monotypic lineage centrogenyidae , comprising centrogenys vaigiensis ( false scorpionfish ) , was not resolved as being closely related to labridae or any member of ovalentaria , but in a clade containing pinguipedidae and uranoscopidae that was not well supported ( fig . 2 b ) and present only in the glyt gene tree ( fig . 2 b ) . figure 4 depicts the phylogenetic results of the raxml analysis , with taxa collapsed to more inclusive taxonomic group designations .
species tree phylogeny of 188 species of acanthomorpha inferred using gene tree parsimony . bootstrap values are given at nodes with clades supported in less than 50 % of the bootstrap replicates collapsed . outgroup taxa ( percopsis , polymixia , beryx , and hoplostethus ) are not shown .
posterior maximum clade credibility relative time tree of 188 species of acanthomorpha inferred from a relaxed molecular clock analysis of a 10 - gene dataset using beast . branches are scaled to relative age estimates . bars at nodes reflect the 95 % highest posterior density of the relative age estimates . posterior probabilities of clade support 0 . 95 and greater are labeled with shaded node bars and those with posterior support values less than 0 . 95 are marked with open node bars . the shaded portion of the phylogeny on the left side of the figure indicates placement of the expanded region of the acanthomorph relative time tree . arrows connect disconnected branches in the phylogeny . the phylogeny is presented in two parts , labeled a ) and b ) .
posterior views of the pharyngeal jaws of a generalized percomorph , a ) the centrarchid lepomis punctatus , and b ) three labroid taxa : the embiotocid embiotoca jacksoni , c ) the pomacentrid hypsypops rubicundus , and d ) the labrid halichoeres garnoti . note in b ) –d ) the single lower pharyngeal jaw element formed by fusion of the left and right fifth ceratobranchials . the relationship between the epibranchial and the upper pharyngeal jaw in lepomis is largely retained in the “labroid” taxa and in lepomis , embiotoca and hypsypops , rotation of the epibranchial causes depression of the upper pharyngeal jaw . eb , fourth epibranchial ; lpj , lower pharyngeal jaw ( fifth ceratobranchial ) ; upj , upper pharyngeal jaw ( third pharyngobranchial ) . scale bars are 3 mm .
all “labroid” species possess united fifth ceratobranchials . this character state appears to be the ancestral condition in labrids , cichlids , pomacentrids , and embiotocids . in labrids , pomacentrids , and embiotocids , the fifth ceratobranchials are fused with no evidence of a suture , whereas cichlids show a distinct suture connecting the fifth ceratobranchials . a muscular sling was found in all “labroid” species except the labrichthyins , labroides ( springer and johnson 2004 ) and labropsis , and the pomacentrid chromis ( stiassny and jensen 1987 ) . the diarthrosis between the neurocranium and upper pharyngeal jaw was found in all “labroids” and , like the other two character states , appears to be the ancestral condition for each clade .
some additional taxa possess all three of the pharyngognathous traits . all nonadrianichthyid beloniforms previously described have been shown to exhibit united fifth ceratobranchials . within this group , all beloniforms , except some belonids ( e . g . , tylosurus [ springer and johnson 2004 ] ) , possess a diarthrosis with a protuberance on the underside of the neurocranium . hemiramphus and cypselurus have a muscle sling , but this trait is absent in belonids .
in all “labroid” clades with a muscular sling , the single lower jaw element is elevated by this muscle , contributing substantially to the pharyngeal jaw biting forces ( fig . 1 ) . however , we also found that the generalized percomorph mechanism of upper jaw depression functioned in most pharyngognathous taxa , including cichlids , pomacentrids , embiotocids , some beloniforms ( hemiramphus and cypselurus ) , and centrogenys . in these taxa , the obliquus dorsalis muscle is well developed , and it appears that rotation of the fourth epibranchial by this muscle and the muscle sling , which in many taxa retains partial attachment to the fourth epibranchial , causes depression of the upper jaw .
functionally , we find that only labrids are characterized by the lack of upper pharyngeal jaw depression . in marked contrast to other pharyngognathous taxa , the obliquus dorsalis muscle is weakly developed . although the muscle sling does attach , in part , to the fourth epibranchial , the bend in the shaft of the fourth epibranchial is mainly oriented anteriorly such that elevation of the distal arm of this bone serves to push the upper jaw medially , against the paired upper jaw from the opposite side ( note orientation of the labrid epibranchial - pharyngobranchial joint in figs . 1 and 7 ) . in labrids , the articulating surface of the fourth epibranchial , at its connection to the upper jaw , is flat and the two bones slide against each other at this articulation . the flattened end of the fourth epibranchial in labrids is in contrast to all other pharyngognathous taxa examined that exhibit a rounded end of the fourth epibranchial that articulates on the dorsal surface on the upper jaw . this sliding joint in labrids appears to facilitate considerable anterior–posterior motion of the upper pharyngeal jaw bones but not dorsal–ventral motion .
the posterior distribution of possible transitions to pharyngognathy , as defined by the presence of the three constituent traits , reveals that there have most likely been between six and 10 independent transitions to pharyngognathy within percomorphs ( fig . 8 ) . this inference is robust as it integrates across uncertainty in tree topology , branch lengths , and character mapping and the result is not altered by placing very different prior expectations on the bias of the transition rate matrix . by looking at a sample of the character mappings upon the phylogeny , as illustrated in figure 9 , we find that pharyngognathy most likely originated on the branches leading to labridae , centrogenyidae , embiotocidae , pomacentridae , cichlidae , and once in the common ancestor of the hemiramphidae + exocoetidae .
histogram showing the estimated number of transitions to pharyngognathy from 5 million character maps generated in simmap ( bollback 2006 ) using three very different β distributions on the prior expectation of the symmetry of the transition rate matrix . this illustrates the variability in the number of transitions due to uncertainty in the tree topology , branch lengths and character mapping by using 5000 trees sampled from the posterior distribution generated by beast and 1000 samples from the posterior for each map for every prior seperately .
family level phylogeny with one possible evolutionary history of pharyngognathy mapped upon it using stochastic character mapping implemented in the r package phytools by ( revell 2011 ) . this mapping represents six origins of pharyngognathy in percomorph fishes which is one of the most common simmap reconstructions . for simplicity , the original tree has been pruned to a single representative for each monophyletic subfamily or family and labeled accordingly . all simmap mappings were performed on the complete 188 taxon beast tree .
the 10 - gene dataset used in our analyses provided substantial phylogenetic resolution among major lineages of percomorph fishes that has ranked as one of the most difficult long - standing issues in vertebrate phylogeny ( e . g . , stiassny et al . 2004 ; nelson 2006 ) . previous efforts at resolving relationships of labroids using whole mtdna genome sequence data did not have the density of species and lineages sampled in our analyses ( e . g . , miya et al . 2005 ; setiamarga et al . 2008 ) , and inferences from datasets composed of fewer nuclear genes , or a combination of mitochondrial and nuclear genes ( e . g . , chen et al . 2003 ; smith and wheeler 2006 ; li et al . 2009 ) , have not provided the degree of resolution observed in our phylogenetic results ( figs . 2–6 ) . our phylogenetic analyses of percomorphs resulted in several important phylogenetic inferences that are novel to our study , as well as corroborating a number of phylogenetic hypotheses inferred initially from previously published studies based on the analysis of mtdna , nuclear , or combined mtdna and nuclear dna sequences .
many of the lineages within ovalentaria exhibit a suite of features associated with the spawning of demersal , adhesive eggs with chorionic filaments ( smith and wheeler 2004 ; smith and craig 2007 ) . in addition , the composition of ovalentaria inferred in the analyses is remarkably similar to that of “clade a” ( with some representatives from “clade c” ) in springer and orrell ' s ( 2004 ) phylogenetic analysis of dorsal gill - arch morphology . the new phylogenetic analyses of the 10 - gene dataset , previous studies based on dna sequence data , and gill - arch morphology converge upon a consensus phylogenetic hypothesis of pharyngognathous percomorphs that facilitate a detailed examination of pharyngognathy in the necessary historical context .
ovalentaria is a major radiation of over 4800 species . the lineages contained within ovalentaria represent major tropical marine reef radiations ( pomacentridae , blennioidei ) , major tropical freshwater radiations ( cichlidae , cyprinodontiformea ) and several lineages with a propensity to cross between freshwater and marine habitats ( ambassidae , atherinomorpha , mugilidae ) . ovalentaria appears to contain several origins of viviparity ( e . g . , some atherinomorphs [ including both cyprinodontiforms , beloniforms ] , embiotocids , and labrisomids ) .
cichlids , pomacentrids , embiotocids , pharyngognathous beloniforms , and centrogenys exhibit both the generalized percomorph biting mechanism and the derived muscle sling mechanism ( fig . 1 ) . in these lineages , two distinct linkages contribute to biting , resulting in a pharyngeal jaw with greater flexibility in movement . by retaining the generalized biting mechanism , these lineages possess the ability to depress the upper jaw as well as elevate the lower jaw . upper jaw depression can be coupled with retraction ( aerts et al . 1986 ) and a shearing action of the upper and lower jaws ( liem 1986 ; wainwright 2005 ) .
reconstruction of the evolution of pharyngognathy on our phylogeny indicates that this complex of traits has evolved six to ten times among percomorphs ( figs . 8 and 9 ) . among the members of the former labroidei , separate origins are inferred for labridae , cichlidae , pomacentridae , and embiotocidae . the phylogenetic position of labrids , several nodes away from the other pharyngognathous clades , strongly supports the inference of independent origin . other recent phylogenetic analyses have also found strong support for a labrid position well away from the other labroid taxa ( dettai and lecointre 2005 ; sparks and smith 2005 ; westneat and alfaro 2005 ; smith and wheeler 2006 ; chen et al . 2007 ; mabuchi et al . 2007 ; setiamarga 2008 ) . the finding that the mechanism of pharyngeal jaw movement in labrids is distinct from that found in other pharyngognaths lends additional support to the interpretation that labrid pharyngognathy is not homologous with the condition seen in the other pharyngognathous lineages .
the presence of the generalized upper jaw depression mechanism in most pharyngognathous taxa , in addition to the derived biting mechanism by lower jaw elevation , combines to produce a level of pharyngeal jaw versatility not previously recognized . because pharyngognathy and the generalized condition can produce different biting actions , the combination may allow these taxa greater flexibility and dexterity when handling prey items that require some reduction and processing . functional versatility of the pharyngeal jaws may be reduced in labrids , who have lost the generalized mechanism of biting by upper jaw depression .
in cichlids , piscivory is widespread and has evolved many times independently ( hulsey and de leon 2005 ) . it is interesting to note , however , that one of the more highly modified piscivorous lineages of neotropical cichlids , cichla , has unsutured , separate fifth ceratobranchials as juveniles ( stiassny and jensen 1987 ) . it is likely that the separate fifth ceratobranchials are able to spread apart laterally , accommodating the large fish prey eaten by young cichla ( wainwright 2005 ) although it is not known what mechanisms accommodate large prey in adult cichla . cichlids are unique among the traditionally recognized pharyngognathous clades in that the fifth ceratobranchials are sutured together , rather than being fused . the same condition was also found in centrogenys . this appears to have left open the possibility of secondary separation of the fifth ceratobranchials , whereas the other pharyngognathous clades appear to have lost this potential . we are not aware of secondary separation of the fifth ceratobranchials in labrids , embiotocids , pomacentrids , or beloniforms .
one aspect of labrid biology may be related to the more specialized functional morphology of their pharyngeal jaw . whereas some embiotocids and numerous cichlids are durophagous , this trophic tendency is strongly developed in labrids and is found throughout the radiation . high - performance shell - cracking of marine bivalves and gastropods require very high biting forces ( wainwright 1987 , 1988 ) and the loss of the generalized upper jaw depression mechanism in all labrids appears to reflect an early specialization of the labrid pharyngeal jaw system for stabilizing the jaws during strong biting actions , resulting in a jaw system with less mobility .
supplementary material , including data files and / or online - only appendices , can be found in the dryad data repository at urltoken , doi : 10 . 5061 / dryad . 5h951h04 .
funding for this research was provided by the national science foundation ( deb - 0444842 , deb - 0716155 , deb - 0717009 , deb - 0732642 , ios - 0444554 , ios - 0749943 , ant - 0839007 , deb - 1060869 , deb - 1061806 , and deb - 1061981 ) .
for valuable feedback during various phases of this research , we benefited greatly from discussions with michael alfaro , david bellwood , matthew davis , david johnson , darrin hulsey , masaki miya , melanie stiassny , and tom waltzek . we thank t . - y . cheng and k . - t . shao of the biodiversity research museum , academia sinica , taiwan , a . c . bentley and e . o . wiley of the biodiversity institute of the university of kansas , usa , for generous gifts of tissue specimens .