Peacock Blenny

• The breeding male develops a conspicuous fleshy crest on his head; females preferentially choose those with the larger crest.
• There is a second type of male, much smaller, that mimics female behaviour to slip into the nest and fertilise the eggs on the sly.
• It is a facultative air breather, and the males hold out in their crevices above the waterline through low tide.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bony fish)

Habitat and environment

The intertidal zone and shallow rock, sand and shingle bottoms of the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Atlantic from France to Morocco; also in harbours, breakwaters and brackish water, down to about 10 m

Sexual maturity

The breeding male develops a fleshy head crest and an anal gland that produces pheromones to draw females to the nest

Gestation / incubation

It is egg-laying, with defined pairing and demersal, adhesive eggs; the male provides exclusive parental care until hatching

Litter / clutch size

A single male guards the clutches of several females in his nest, and may set up more than one nest in succession in the same breeding season

Sources consulted: Wikipedia (en): Peacock blenny · Lista Roja UICN (Zander 1986) · estudio de ecologia reproductiva en la Ria Formosa (Portugal) · Fishipedia · Lista Roja UICN, evaluacion de Salaria pavo · Lista Roja UICN (Breder & Rosen 1966 · Zander 1986) · Scientific Data, genoma de Salaria pavo · Estudio de dieta de Salaria pavo en el estrecho de Kerch · Guias de fauna marina mediterranea · estudio de dieta en el estrecho de Kerch · Scientific Data, ensamblaje del genoma de Salaria pavo

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.