Acanthemblemaria
genus of fishes
Acanthemblemaria is a genus of chaenopsid blennies native to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Etymology
Acanthemblemaria: Greek, akantha = thorn + Greek, emblema, -atos, anything that is nailed, knocked in; also anything with bass [sic] or high relief.
Description
Body elongated; head short and blunt; pointed or blunt spines on snout, below eye, sometimes on top of head; 2 rows of very well developed teeth on the roof of the mouth; 1 pair of branched or unbranched cirri over eyes; cirri over nostrils; usually with a notch between the spiny and soft parts of the dorsal fin.
Species
The 22 recognized species in this genus are:
Acanthemblemaria aceroi Hastings, Eytan & Summers, 2020 (Blue-spotted barnacle blenny)
Acanthemblemaria aspera (Longley, 1927) (roughhead blenny)
Acanthemblemaria atrata Hastings & D. R. Robertson, 1999 (Cocos barnacle blenny)
Acanthemblemaria balanorum Brock, 1940 (clubhead blenny)
Acanthemblemaria betinensis Smith-Vaniz & Palacio, 1974 (speckled blenny)
Acanthemblemaria castroi J. S. Stephens & Hobson, 1966 (Galapagos barnacle blenny)
Acanthemblemaria chaplini J. E. Böhlke, 1957 (papillose blenny)
Acanthemblemaria crockeri Beebe & Tee-Van, 1938 (browncheek blenny)
Acanthemblemaria exilispinus J. S. Stephens, 1963 (bluntspine blenny)
Acanthemblemaria greenfieldi Smith-Vaniz & Palacio, 1974 (false papillose blenny)
Acanthemblemaria hancocki G. S. Myers & Reid, 1936 (Hancock's blenny)
Acanthemblemaria harpeza J. T. Williams, 2002
Acanthemblemaria hastingsi H. C. Lin & Galland, 2010 (Cortez barnacle blenny)
Acanthemblemaria johnsoni Almany & C. C. Baldwin, 1996
Acanthemblemaria macrospilus Brock, 1940 (barnacle blenny)
Acanthemblemaria mangognatha Hastings & D. R. Robertson, 1999 (Revillagigedo barnacle blenny)
Acanthemblemaria maria J. E. Böhlke] 1961 (secretary blenny)
Acanthemblemaria medusa Smith-Vaniz & Palacio, 1974 (Medusa blenny)
Acanthemblemaria paula G. D. Johnson & Brothers, 1989 (dwarf spinyhead blenny)
Acanthemblemaria rivasi J. S. Stephens, 1970 (spotjaw blenny)
Acanthemblemaria spinosa Metzelaar, 1919 (spinyhead blenny)
Acanthemblemaria stephensi Rosenblatt & McCosker, 1988 (Malpelo barnacle blenny)
Behavior and diet
Acanthemblemaria species are mostly filter feeding fishes, they inhabit coral reefs, rocky reefs and abandoned worm and mollusc tubes.
They feed mostly on passing benthic crustaceans, zooplankton and benthic worms.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Acanthemblemaria” as genus of fishes. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as genus of fishes. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1946692. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1927, 1999 and 1940.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Acanthemblemaria”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Acanthemblemaria primary sources, Acanthemblemaria archive and Acanthemblemaria research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Acanthemblemaria”?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
- Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
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This entry incorporates text from “Acanthemblemaria” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.