Mimoblennius rusi Springer & Spreitzer 1978

Pale with dusky margins on head and body; body sometimes with dusky bands; dark spot between 1st 2 dorsal spines (Ref. 4404).

Oviparous, distinct pairing (Ref. 205).

Dorsal spines (total): 12 - 13; Dorsal soft rays (total): 17 - 18; Analspines: 2; Analsoft rays: 20 - 21

Found in tidepools and rocky surge areas (Ref. 90102). Oviparous. Eggs are demersal and adhesive (Ref. 205), and are attached to the substrate via a filamentous, adhesive pad or pedestal (Ref. 94114). Larvae are planktonic, often found in shallow, coastal waters (Ref. 94114).

Mimoblennius rusi

DESCRIPTION (based on three males; * denotes character of holotype where variation occurs).—Dorsal fin XII*–XIII, 17–18*; total elements 30* or 31. Anal fin II, 20. Caudal fin: segmented rays 12* or 13 (9 branched); dorsal procurrent rays 7 or 8*; ventral procurrent rays 7; total elements 27; ventral hypural plate and hypural 5 autogenous; epurals 2. Pectoral-fin rays 14. Pelvic fin I, 3, spine and innermost ray inapparent except in skeletal preparations. Vertebrae 10 + 27. Total premaxillary teeth 35, 36, or 38*. Total dentary incisoriform teeth 30 or 32*; minute posterior canine present on each dentary. Continuous tubular portion of lateral line short, followed posteriorly by several unconnected, bipored tubes; posteriormost tube lying below vertical from base of 8th* or 10th dorsal-fin spine. Median supratemporal commissural pores 3.

Fleshy median crest on top of head absent. Simple cirrus over each eye. Nape cirrus a simple flap. Nasal cirri 2–4, present only on posterior rim of anterior nostril.

Pigmentation: Head and body pale. Midside of body with series of up to seven large, squarish, dusky blotches separated by pale interspaces; each blotch may consist of fusion of two less distinct bars (large, saddle-like blotch on illustrated specimen in Figure 8 is present only on one side, and is apparently atypical); small, dusky spots scattered variously over pale areas; large, faintly dusky blotches may border pale interspaces ventrally. Venter variable, immaculate in two paratypes, finely dotted in holotype. Ventral prepectoral area with dusky spot, which may be loosely associated with dusky area between ventral pectoral-fin base and pelvic fins. Pre- and interpelvic area dusky to immaculate.



Side of head with dusky blotch near orbital margin posteriorly in two specimens, blotch absent in third; snout region dusky anteriorly; ventral surface of head with two or three almost parallel, dark, transverse bars (chevrons), anteriormost bar just posterior to level of rictus, squarish or slender, may be absent or connected to second bar by paler dusky pigment; second bar may be connected to posteriormost by paler dusky pigment; posteriormost bar on or near posterior margin of gill membrane ventrally, bar may be incomplete across isthmus.

Dorsal fin: spinous portion with black spot at midlevel of membrane between first two spines, remainder of portion immaculate basally with dusky mottling distally; segmented-ray portion with irregular dusky mottling basally, followed dorsally by immaculate stripe, and narrow, finely dusky distal stripe. Anal fin dusky, darker distally, with tips of most rays immaculate (smallest specimen with basal half of fin immaculate). Caudal fin with melanophores outlining rays; narrow band of sparse melanophores distally; dusky spots on middle to lower rays. Pectoral-fin rays outlined with melanophores, uppermost portion of fin immaculate, becoming dusky ventrally. Pelvic-fin immaculate or dusky basally.

ETYMOLOGY.—The specific epithet, rusi, is an arbitrary combination of letters, here treated as a noun in apposition. RUSI is also the acronym for the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Rhodes University.

COMPARISONS (Table 4).—Mimoblennius rusi is most similar to M. cas, which is also its geographically closest congener. Both species agree in typically having simple supraorbital cirri, whereas the other two Mimoblennius species typically have two or more supraorbital cirri. Mimoblennius rusi also probably agrees with M. cas in having a relatively smaller eye (Figure 7) than does either of the other two species, but more specimens of M. rusi are needed to confirm this character. Mimoblennius rusi differs from M. cas in having a dark spot in the membrane between the first two dorsal-fin spines (lacking in M. cas), in having more dentary incisoriform teeth (the smallest specimen of M. rusi, 30 mm SL, has more teeth than any of the specimens of M. cas examined for this character, including specimens over 30 mm SL), and M. rusi attains a larger size than M. cas. Except for lacking the dark dorsal-fin spot, we have seen specimens of M. cas that have color patterns essentially the same as found in M. rusi.

HOLOTYPE.—RUSI 800, male, 30.0 mm SL; South Africa (Indian Ocean coast), Kwazulu, reef 6.5 km N of Island Rock, in 2 m deep gully with sand bottom, open to sea (about 3.9 km N of Soowana Bay), 27°13′21″S, 032°47′48″E; 28 July 1976; R. Winterbottom, et al; field number RW76-22; out of former RUSI 76–21.

PARATYPES.—RUSI 801 (26.1 mm SL), male, and USNM 216554 (40.3 mm SL), male, both taken with holotype (both out of former RUSI 76–21).

Mimoblennius rusi és una espècie de peix de la família dels blènnids i de l'ordre dels perciformes.

Mimoblennius rusi, the Rusi blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in the western Indian ocean. This species grows to a length of 4 centimetres (1.6 in) SL. The specific name is an acronym which stands for the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Rhodes University where the holotype and paratypes are retained.

Mimoblennius rusi es una especie de pez de la familia Blenniidae en el orden de los Perciformes.

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Mimoblennius rusi Mimoblennius generoko animalia da. Arrainen barruko Actinopterygii klasean sailkatzen da, Blenniidae familian.