True blennies; with notes on British species
For this article, my primary reference on where taxa are situated is Phylogenetic Classification of Living and Fossil Ray-Finned Fishes (Actinopterygii) by Near & Thacker, 2024, which I regard to be the most authoritative revision of actinopterygiians at the time of this article's publication.
Who wants to be a Blennionaire?
An overview of the true blenny families, with a guide to British species.
I can't think of many questions where the potential answers could be 'true' or 'false' without actually being a proper 'true or false' question, but when talking of blennies, it makes a pretty good case. The answer of course is "A"; the triplefins are one of six families of true blennies, unlike, let's say the Vivaparous blenny, which is not a blenny at all (and isn't even vivaparous), and would informally be considered a false blenny—what a poser. So what exactly are blennies? What makes a blenny true? How many species are here in Britain? And for the splashy species hunter, can I catch them on rod and line?
In Britain, we have a meager seven [known] species of 'true' blenny, across two different families, restricted only to saltwater, with an additional five or more erroneously named as and/or mistaken to be blennies. Our blennies are somewhat rigid in appearance compared to the rest of the world, but they are certainly not boring. From the likes of the minuscule Montagu's blenny, embellished with teal freckles and emerard folds tipped with red on the corner of its mouth; to the exceptional Butterfly blenny with its large pectorals and regal, high dorsal fin! There does seem to be some confusion however, about what constitutes a *true* blenny. This stems from our own experiences with them, as we have only two true blenny families here, but most people have only heard of one!
What is a true blenny?
It starts with a taxonomic order of ray-finned fishes known as the Blenniiformes (blennies and their relatives), a clade of fishes which emerged around 66 million years ago, almost immediately after the dinosaurs died out. Taxa from this order sequentially gradiated towards the true blennies, meaning that this order contains the true blennies, and the families which diverged off of this blenny lineage along the way. Take for example the Damselfish (yes, a Blenniform, though not a blenny), their ancestors were one of the earliest recognised in this order to diverge from the lineage which later became the blennies, whereas ancestral Clingfishes were the last to diverge.
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| A simplified cladogram of the Blenniform order; an unbroken lineage leading to the true blennies (Blennioidei) with other families branching off along the way. ©Josh Pickett. |
It is the suborder, Blennioidei (a clade of more contemporary blenniform families), which are regarded as the true blennies. It contains six families, two of which have species present in Britain: the triplefin blennies (of which a single species is known here), and the more popular combtooth blennies (with six species which exist in British waters).
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| The blenny taxonomic family tree. The green taxa represent the true blennies, and the ones bordered in blue are present in Britain. I have not included genera, and species from those genera absent from British waters, as this diagram would balloon in size. Incredibly, there are over 150 genera of true blennies, comprising nearly 900 species, as of 2025! ©Josh Pickett. |
A summary of the true blenny families (oldest to youngest)
Tripterygiidae
The triplefins; an incredibly shy,
small-growing family of blennies; most species of them have sexual
dimorphism with the male being far more vibrant. We only have one
verified species of these in Britain, which is the elusive Black-faced
blenny. Several
times I've heard people claim that they aren't true blennies, they're
triplefins. A wrong, but understandable assumption, given that there are multiple species of fish in Britain we call blennies, but actually aren't
(Vivaparous & Yarrell’s blennies; more on that later), but
triplefins are indeed true blennies, being that they belong to the Blennioidei suborder. One might argue that triplefins are more 'blenny' than all of the other true blennies, as this family is the sister group to every other family of true
blenny, meaning the last common ancestor they shared with another blenny
family, was when the suborder of Blennioidei first emerged, making
their lineage the oldest and most basal group of true blennies!
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| A male and female Triangle Triplefin Helcogramma inclinata on the coast of Yakushima Island, Japan. ©Shigeru Harazaki |
"One might argue that triplefins are more 'blenny' than all of the other true blennies... The oldest and most basal group of true blennies!"
Blenniidae
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| False Cleanerfish Aspidontus taeniatus (left) which is a combotooth blenny species, imitating the Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse Labroides dimidiatus (right). The best way to tell these genera apart, is that the blenny will have their lower jaw on the underside of their snout, whereas the wrasse will have it on the tip of their snout. ©SLouisy, ©momaz respectively. |
Clinidae
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| Giant Kelpfish Heterostichus rostratus, there is something that feels wrong about saying this is a blenny, but it is indeed a true blenny, albeit one taking an unusual form, one we do not expect blennies to look like. ©uwkwaj. |
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| Chinese Klipfish Clinus nematopterus, a smaller species of kelp blenny, that adorns interesting looking cirri that migrate up to the anterior of the dorsal fin. Despite the name, this species is endemic to South Africa, not China, due to an error in the original description. ©Guido Zsilavecz. |
Labrisomidae
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| Phylogenetic tree of the Blenniformes order (also containing clingfishes, clownfish & damselfish); within this contains the Blennioidei suborder (the true blennies). Fig. 16 of Near and Thacker 2024. |
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| Southern blenny Malacoctenus sudensis, a labrisomid blenny captured along the South West coast of Costa Rica. ©Ben Cantrell. |
Dactyloscopidae
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| An unidentified species of dactyloscopid (sand stargazer) blenny, found in the Sea of Cortez. To the untrained eye, one might believe it to be one of the unrelated weeverfishes. ©Carlos Damián [image has been brightened]. |
Chaenopsidae
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| With a body resembling our own Tompot blenny, and a mouth akin to the frill of Jurassic Park's interpretation of the Dilophosaurus, the Sarcastic fringehead makes for one of the most iconic blennies in the world. ©Adriane Honerbrink. |
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| A Sarcastic fringehead Neoclinus blanchardi caught by a kayak angler in California. ©Zach Fratello [image has been cropped]. |
What true blennies do we have in Britain?
While I detail my own angling methods here, I don't want to retread old ground, Ben Bassett provided his own great article, Blenny Bashing several years prior, which you should check out after this, if you haven't already! Jack Perks, who I joined in his Chasing Scales series looking for Ringneck blenny, has also released his new book, Field Guide to British Fish Freshwater and Marine, that covers some of the following species below, which I'd implore you to order, as it offers plenty of information on them not found here too. Unfortunately, the blenny section of this book opens with saying Black-faced blenny is not a true blenny, an error the author is aware of, and will amend in the next edition.
Butterfly blenny Blennius ocellaris
Earning its scientific name from the single, large ocelli on their large dorsal fin, the Butterfly blenny is an aggressive little character. Preferring deeper water, this is not a fish you can feasibly target from the shore with any success (though never say never). In open coast, during the Spring/Summer, you might be looking at upwards of 20–30 metres depth on the shallower side before you will encounter them, or in flooded river valleys, divers have reported them on the slopes of the channel from as deep as 10–15m. They seem to prefer a sandy or muddy ground, littered in shells for them to lay their eggs, and remarkably use discarded bottles too. In these depths, they are sympatric with Ringneck blenny, often protecting their eggs in a shell or bottle, mere inches apart from eachother. The inshore sandy ground around the shell beds, have also surveyed an array of species, including the ever-opportunistic Black goby. I suspect most Butterfly blenny that are caught on rod and line between 15–30ft aren't biting out of hunger, but rather defensively guarding their eggs, and that they return to deeper water after their eggs hatch. This species is found from northwestern Africa, through to the Mediterranean, up along the southwestern coasts of Britain, and stretching as far North as Wales and Scotland, albeit sightings of the latter two are seldom seen. There are very few rod and line reports for me to recommend a specific consistent catch method, but it looks like watercraft is far more important that the actual fishing method. If you're able to locate the species, LRF tactics adapted for deep water should yield a fish or two.
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A Butterfly blenny loitering around a small, shell/pot-like structure, potentially guarding eggs. ©Xavier Rufray |
Montagu’s blenny Coryphoblennius galerita
The smallest of the British combtooth blennies, rarely exceeding a minuscule 7cm, but their intricate patterns will easily blow you away. They have a single, large tentacle on their head, called 'cirri', which is their most defining feature, alongside bright orange and red flaps on the corner of their mouths. They are quite famously a Mediterranean species, but are known across the South West of England, sunbathing in the rockpools. They tend to have a preference for shallow rockpools in the middle of the intertidal zone, with quick access to hiding spots amongst crevices in the rock, or in the weed. I spend several minutes still, by a rockpool, waiting to see movement in my peripheral, as they're so tiny, but also camoflague themselves well too. In my own observations, they seem to congregate more in pools with pink Coral weed Corallina officinalis, as they line the slopes of rockpools, and the blennies are small enough to burrow themselves into the short carpets of the weed, avoiding detection. These sorts of pools tend not to provide ample hiding spaces for some of the more larger, or bullish rockpool species, like Giant gobies or Common blennies. They are exceptionally nervous, so don't persist with trying to catch an individual if it's not interested in your lure/bait; if you've seen them in one rockpool, they will be in many others. It's more of a numbers game, spend 5–10 minutes just watching or working your way around the pool with your hook, before moving on to another. For this species, my favourite method is a light cheb or splitshot (1–3 grams) with a tanago or a size 22 hook on 1.5–3cm hooklength. It's so much fun using a tanago rod instead of a traditional LRF/ultralight rod too!
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| A couple of rather large Montagu's blennies, caught from a rockpool in Cornwall (top), with a view of the ornate, speckled throat of one of them (below). ©Josh Pickett. |
Common blenny Lipophrys pholis
Shannies, as they're also nicknamed, are pretty characterstic, with their bald head, absent of any cirri, and their thick, moustache-like lip folds. Anyone in the LRF community can attest to the fact that these critters are virtually everywhere; if there's a place something can hide, you bet there's a gathering of these little Dr. Phil lookalikes in there. Cracks in harbour walls, rockpools, and sometimes they might be as bold to bask in inches of water on slipway steps as the tide comes in! The males assume a jet black appearance for spawning and will staunchly defend the females eggs hidden underneath the rocks in the intertidal zone, so it's important to return them exactly where you found them. There are few micro fish in Britain more aggressive than these rockpool bullies, I've had them barge past crabs and thick seaweed just to try and eat or attack my cheb weight; a very obliging species year round! You'll catch them with ease on any scaled down method or end tackle; bait, artificial, plastic, even micro metals. Don't underestimate the strength in their jaws, they'll easily snap a thin-wire hook, all while trying to relieve you of one of your fingers (if they were any bigger, rockpools would be no-go zones, with warning signs saying SHARK SHANNY SIGHTED! KEEP OUT!)
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| For once, a well-behaved shanny caught in a Cornish rockpool, even displaying its dorsal fin! ©Josh Pickett. |
Tompot blenny Parablennius gattorugine
A personable and sometimes comical-looking blenny, adored by divers and LRF anglers alike. Usually defined by their treebark brown texture, with two red cirri, dark dorsolateral stripes, and in larger specimens, ginger tipped pectoral fins. The Tompot is most often seen along the South West of Britain, and is deceptively common in Cornwall. It is the largest of all the true blenny species in Britain, reaching an impressive foot long, although anything above 20cm is considered a specimen (my own record being a 22cm brute); a good bite from one of these whilst unhooking them can certainly part you with some skin. They tend to favour reefs, hiding in amongst them with other blennies, wrasse, clingfishes, and seasnails (Liparis), but you will find them around rocky ground, harbours and the lower reaches of the intertidal zone underneath rocks too. A dropshot with a 4 inch snood and size 14–16 barbless hook dropped between rocks has caught most of my Tompots. Just be aware, they like to drag your lure or bait into their hide before fully commiting to it, so it pays to react quickly to avoid snagging (in that event, make sure your snood or dropshot can slide off easily, so you don't leave a tethered fish if they do struggle to eject the barbless hook). You will have far less fuss in the Summer/Autumn months, fishing down harbour walls, where there is more open ground and less places to snag. I find a small cheb with a soft plastic bounced around the structure the most rewarding way to catch them, but if your aim is to catch more and easier, there are fewer methods better than a dropshot.
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| Their tall, cartilgeous fin rays, and muscular, stiff body, makes this species a firm favourite amongst LRF anglers. Countless times have I hooked one on ultralight, believing it to be a small wrasse diving; in my experience at least, |
Ringneck blenny Parablennius pilicornis
A visitor from the Mediterranean, and maybe even a resident along the South West of Britain for decades, but in the last twenty years, their numbers have grown, with regular sightings by divers in Cornwall and Devon, as they venture into shallower coastal waters. They may have been getting caught by anglers for years, being mistaken as the very similar Tompot blenny, though the best way to tell them apart is by the presence of dark bands on their throat, like their namesake, and tend to adorn spots, less often stripes. Most British sightings seem to be in deeper inshore water, like that of large river valleys (rias) or natural harbours, such as the Carrick Roads or Plymouth Sound (making them relatively frequent catches from kayaks or boats when fishing ultralight), but they can still be caught from the shore itself, preferring structure like most of our blennies. A good way to target them, is to first look through recent diving surveys to see where they've been spotted, then find the nearest shore mark to it that holds structure (but does not completely empty on a low tide), and fish around it; marinas and ferry ports are good places to try. If you're catching wrasse (Ballan & Corkwing), Common blennies, large gobies (Black & Rock), then you're fishing in the right places, as these species are usually sympatric. Ringnecks are somewhat territorial, so can be repeatedly caught from the same area, but when Tompot blennies move in (with the tide, or for whatever reason), they will either push off the Ringnecks for the duration of their stay, or will beat the Ringnecks to the lure or bait, so your chances of catching a Ringneck slopes off when the Tompots show. The methods of catching them don't differ too much from the Tompots, you only need to scale down the hook slightly more, as they don't grow as large, but a size 16 is perfect. Despite being a Mediterranean species, I've caught them from when our sea temps are at their coldest (even seeing males in their breeding colours in April), right the way through to their warmest in Autumn. I actually think it's easier to target them when it's colder; it's more punishing as you're not catching many fish, but you're not fighting through the Tompots. A single bite is hard to get at that time of year, but you have greater opportunity to catch the timid fish that hardly get a chance to reach your hook in the competitive summertime.
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| A Ringneck blenny caught in April 2024 (top) and another in October 2023 showing the throat rings of its namesake (bottom); both caught in Cornwall. ©Josh Pickett. |
Portuguese blenny Parablennius ruber
A cryptic blenny species that I've never encountered (yet) in my angling, which bares a striking resemblance to the Tompot blenny; the key difference being these are more vibrant and typically red. If you're lucky, you may encounter them on the West and North coasts of Ireland and Scotland, sporadically in Cornwall and Devon, and also around the Isles of Scilly. They were first described by Ushant along the coast of Brittany, France in 1836, but were believed to be a breeding colour variety of Tompot blenny, and not their own species (later earning them the name Red tompot blenny or Red blenny). In 1979 and 1982, it was recognised as its own species, ranging all the way down to Portugal, and eventually including the species found in Brittany. The fact that this species was found in the North of France as early as 1836 (and as far North as the Orkney Isles, today), suggests that this species is not in Britain because of warming ocean temps (though it may still be affecting their range), but may likely have been native here all along; the popularity of diving in recent years could have just revealed their distribution to us better. In terms of rod and line catches, I've seen reports of them show up most often on boat species competitions in Ireland between the months of May to October. In Britain and Ireland, they appear to prefer deeper, sloping rocky ground, like what you might expect in a large, flooded river valley, or steep rocky coastline, a contrast to what they like across the Channel. Being that they belong to the Parablennius genus, like Tompot and Ringneck blennies, similar methods that are adapted for deeper water will work just as well.
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| A picture-perfect example of a Portuguese blenny, found in the Hebrides islands, Scotland, near its most northerly range. ©Jim Greenfield. |
Black-faced blenny Tripterygion delaisi
Again, another species which is rarely caught on rod and line, and not from lack of trying. There are a couple of locations where you're able to see them from the shore on the southwest coast, swimming around in shallow rocky shelves, but are so fussy, it's quite often a waste of time targeting them, and it feels more like you're just an annoying giant. The males are quite easy to spot in their breeding colours, with a vibrant, banana yellow body and black face, whereas the females are quite drab in comparison, though beautiful nonetheless. They primarily feed on invertebrates like micro-crustaceans and worms, swallowing their prey whole; keep in mind their mouth is tiny, so your bait or lure not only needs to match the hatch, but also the size of their esophagus (just because it fits in their mouth, doesn't mean they can swallow it whole). Tanago hooks or size 22 hooks are your best chance, tipped with lure or bait like Isome Snow, on a little splitshot, gently twitched in front of them. Don't be afraid to go small with your presentation; remember, they're only just able to swallow micro inverts whole, so target them like you would expect to target a pipefish. There are few things in this world as frustrating as sight fishing Black-faced blenny, so kudos to anyone who has genuinely managed to catch them!
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| Incredible to think we have tropical-looking fish like this male Black-faced blenny in Britain! ©Michiel Vos. |
Blenny-like British fishes (false blennies)
Curiously, all of the fishes in the following list are designated within the Scorpaenoidei suborder, which according to Near & Thacker 2024, are nestled within the Perciformes, not only meaning they are not true blennies, but are far more closely related to groupers, gurnards, and even sticklebacks, than they are any of the true blennies or their relatives. Any resembelance to the blennies is a result of convergent evolution from sharing or exploiting similar niches. To put it into perspective even further, they're also closer to Icefish (the only known vertebrates to lack hemoglobin) than they are the blennies.
Vivaparous blenny Zoarces viviparus
A more accurate name for this species would be the Ovovivaparous eelpout, being that it is a zoarcid, sharing no relation with any of the blennies, and gives birth to larvae, not juveniles. Ovovivaparous is the sort-of inbetween of oviparous (egg-laying) and vivaparous (birth of partial or fully developed juveniles). In some parts of the world, this species is nicknamed the "Mother of Eels" for this very reason! They're a somewhat common catch on ultralight in the northeast of Britain, and more infrequently on the northwest, but are not often, if at all seen in the South (any tactic that works for scorps, or the larger blennies and gobies will work for the eelpout too). They are however, far more common in Denmark, so if you ever plan to travel there, now you know!
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| ©Klaus Kevin Kristensen |
Yarrell’s blenny Chirolophis ascanii
Despite being the most blenny-looking in this list (adorned even with cirri-like tentacles), it is actually a stichaeid Warbonnet, the Atlantic warbonnet to be precise. Just like the eelpout, and all the others on this list, it falls within the Scorpaenoidei suborder, therefore is a perciform, a completely different order to the Blenniformes. Like the eelpout, in Britain this warbonnet is mostly restricted to the North, specifically the north of England, Ireland and Scotland. They are quite a bit rarer than the eelpout too, but again, the methods are similar. I've seen chebs with size 14–16 hooks and pieces of ragworm imitation lures provide success.
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| ©Jim Greenfield |
Snakeblenny Lumpenus lampretaeformis
Along with their relative snakeblennies, they are also stichaeids, which once again rule them out as true blennies. As the name suggests, they are the most serpentine of the false blennies on this list, which may give us a clue as to why they are seldom surveyed or caught here. Purportedly quite common in the North Atlantic, though most often seen in the North Sea around Norway, Denmark and Sweden, and the eastern coast of Canada. Rod and line catches are rare, and while it is plausible to be caught from Britain, namely the northern reaches of Scotland, they prefer depths upwards of 40 metres to nearly 400m, and spend much of their time in long, narrow burrows; so opportunities to catch them, even amongst a field of burrows will be slim. There are many different types of Snakeblennies which reside in the North Atlantic, and could well reside in British waters, Leptoclinus maculatus also known as the Spotted snakeblenny or Daubed shanny is an even rarer species surveyed in British waters, though Fishbase notes the habitat for them here is poor, so their probability of occurrence here is recorded as the lowest in their native range.
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| Snakeblenny (Lumpenus lampretaeformis) top, and Spotted snakeblenny (Leptoclinus maculatus) below, captured in Quebec, Canada. ©Claude Nozères. |
Butterfish Pholis gunnellus
This is a species I wasn't aware people were mistaking as a blenny, but apparently some do, though in hindsight I can see why. They are the Gunnels (pholids), the Butterfish in particular is known as the Rock gunnel; so like the others, gunnels are contemporary scorpaenoids, meaning they stemmed from more recent branches of this suborder. Several taxa of these lower scorpaenoids converge in appearance with some of the traditional-looking true blennies. Many taxa in these clades just appear to mimic the 'blenny' form rather well. Have you ever wondered why the Atlantic wolffish looks like a giant, terrifying blenny? It's one of those lower scorpaenoid lineages, just like all the false blennies on this list!
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| ©philwilkinson |
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