Acanthemblemaria
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 or high reliefDescription
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 over eyes; over nostrils; usually with a notch between the spiny and soft parts of the dorsal finSpecies
The 21 recognized species in this genus are:Acanthemblemaria aceroi Hastings, Eytan & Summers, 2020 Acanthemblemaria aspera Acanthemblemaria atrata Hastings & D. R. Robertson, 1999 Acanthemblemaria balanorum Brock, 1940 Acanthemblemaria betinensis Smith-Vaniz & Palacio, 1974 Acanthemblemaria castroi J. S. Stephens & Hobson, 1966 Acanthemblemaria chaplini J. E. Böhlke, 1957 Acanthemblemaria crockeri Beebe & Tee-Van, 1938 Acanthemblemaria exilispinus J. S. Stephens, 1963 Acanthemblemaria greenfieldi Smith-Vaniz & Palacio, 1974 Acanthemblemaria hancocki G. S. Myers & Reid, 1936 Acanthemblemaria harpeza J. T. Williams, 2002Acanthemblemaria hastingsi H. C. Lin & Galland, 2010 Acanthemblemaria johnsoni Almany & C. C. Baldwin, 1996Acanthemblemaria macrospilus Brock, 1940 Acanthemblemaria mangognatha Hastings & D. R. Robertson, 1999 Acanthemblemaria maria J. E. Böhlke] 1961 Acanthemblemaria medusa Smith-Vaniz & Palacio, 1974 Acanthemblemaria paula G. D. Johnson & Brothers, 1989 Acanthemblemaria rivasi J. S. Stephens, 1970 Acanthemblemaria spinosa Metzelaar, 1919 Acanthemblemaria stephensi Rosenblatt & McCosker, 1988Behavior and diet
Acanthemblemaria 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, benthic worms,