Ecsenius springeri is a spankin new species of blenny that is very similar to our beloved aquarium bicolor gobies. So many of the new species described are often times wrasses and especially gobies, so it’s with great delight that today we learned of a new species of Blenny.
What’s interesting about the new Springer’s blenny is that it comes from such a small range that it is described as being a micro-endemic reef fish. Ecsenius springeri was found living at Fak Fak Peninsula just below the Bird’s Head Seascape in Raja Ampat where there is a huge diversity of both reef fish and corals.
The common and widespread bicolor blenny has a varied appearance which ranges from half purple & orange but there’s also a striped form with a bright white belly. Springer’s blenny is an ‘interpretation’ of this striped form with a very reduced thin white stripe that stretches from the eye to the base of the tail.
There’s actually a remarkable handful of microendemic reef fish from Fak Fak, perhaps due to the unique environment which has lots of freshwater input and very large tidal influence. Ecsenius is one of the most attractive and bold groups of colorful reef fish, both in the wild and in the aquarium so it’s really exciting to see the genus admit one new member. [JOSF]
