Feather Blenny

Feather Blenny

Hypsoblennius hentzi

Size: to 5"

Habitat: bays, estuaries, protected coastal waters

Notes:

Blennies live on the bottom in oyster beds or mussel beds. If you find an old piece of pipe or a bottle in the river, look inside - you'll probably find a blenny.

Feather Blenny

Feather Blennies have branching "horns" over the eyes, called cirri.

Similar Striped Blenny has a more pointed profile with almost invisible cirri. I have not yet encountered the third and final species of blenny in our area - the Seaweed Blenny.

Feather Blenny
Feather Blenny
When I was cleaning his aquarium once, this little bugger swam up and bit my hand, and left a mark !!! They have very strong jaws.

Smooth Dogfish

Smooth Dogfish
Mustelus canis

Size:
to 4ft (male)
to 5 ft (female)

Habitat:
shallow coastal waters, in depths 30 ft and below.

Notes:

Smooth Dogfish are tannish-gray, slate-gray, or brown above. The lower sides and belly are white, grayish-white, or yellow. A sooty spot is often found near the tip of the upper lobe of the caudal fin. The species is distributed from New Brunswick, Canada, to Uruguay, and inhabits the bottoms of estuaries and coastal waters out to a depth of about 650 feet. During the spring and summer, most of the sharks are found in waters less than 60 feet deep.

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