yellow triplefin
Enneapterygius abeli (Klausewitz, 1960)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The yellow triplefin (Enneapterygius abeli), also known as the Abel's triplefin in South Africa, is a species of triplefin in the genus Enneapterygius. Males in this species can reach a maximum length of 2.5 centimetres. The blennies are generally bright yellow in colour, and males have black heads. They feed mostly on benthic invertebrates.
In 1960, Wolfgang Klausewitz described the species, originally assigning it to the genus Tripterygion under "T. abeli". It was later reassigned to Helcogramma, before being reassigned to Enneapterygius by W. Holleman in 2005.
The fish is named in honor of Austrian biologist Erich F. Abel (1919-1995) of the University of Vienna, who worked on the ecology and ethology of fishes of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and who donated the type specimens from the Red Sea to the Senckenberg Museum.
Wikipedia contributors, Yellow triplefin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:02:07.202066+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Enneapterygius abeli (Klausewitz, 1960)
- Name authority
- (Klausewitz, 1960)
- Common name
- yellow triplefin
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Blenniiformes
- Family
- Tripterygiidae
- Genus
- Enneapterygius
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderBlenniiformes
- familyTripterygiidae Whitley, 1931
- subfamilyTripterygiinae Whitley, 1931
- genusEnneapterygius Rüppell, 1835
- speciesEnneapterygius abeli (Klausewitz, 1960)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Enneapterygius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Enneapterygius bahasa Fricke, 1997 | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Enneapterygius destai Clark, 1980 | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Enneapterygius elaine Holleman, 2005 | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Enneapterygius etheostoma (Jordan & Snyder, 1902) | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Enneapterygius flavoccipitis Shen, 1994 | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Enneapterygius genamaculatus Holleman, 2005 | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Enneapterygius gruschkai Holleman, 2005 | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Enneapterygius hollemani Randall, 1995 | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Enneapterygius melanospilus Randall, 1995 | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Enneapterygius minutus (Günther, 1877) | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Enneapterygius mirabilis Fricke, 1994 | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Enneapterygius miyakensis Fricke, 1987 | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Helcogramma abeli (Klausewitz, 1960) (Klausewitz, 1960) | synonym |
| Trypterygium abeli Klausewitz, 1960 Klausewitz, 1960 | synonym |
| Tripterygion abeli Klausewitz, 1960 Klausewitz, 1960 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=219179 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:39VYK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.