sarcastic fringehead
Neoclinus blanchardi Girard, 1858
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 sarcastic fringehead (Neoclinus blanchardi) is a small saltwater tube-blenny that possesses an extremely large, brightly coloured mouth, which males display during territorial encounters, for which it has been given its common name. The term 'fringehead' reflects the distinctive ruff of tissue surrounding the fish's neck. The specific name honors Dr. S. B. Blanchard of San Diego, California, who collected specimens of this blenny and passed them on to Charles Frédéric Girard, who described it.
Wikipedia contributors, Sarcastic fringehead; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:47:15.336251+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Neoclinus blanchardi Girard, 1858
- Name authority
- Girard, 1858
- Common name
- sarcastic fringehead
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Blenniiformes
- Family
- Chaenopsidae
- Genus
- Neoclinus
- 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
- familyChaenopsidae Gill, 1865
- genusNeoclinus Girard, 1858
- speciesNeoclinus blanchardi Girard, 1858
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Neoclinus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Neoclinus monogrammus Murase, Aizawa & Sunobe, 2010 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neoclinus nudus Stephens & Springer, 1971 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neoclinus bryope (Jordan & Snyder, 1902) | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neoclinus chihiroe Fukao, 1987 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neoclinus lacunicola Fukao, 1980 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neoclinus nudiceps Murase, Aizawa & Sunobe, 2010 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neoclinus okazakii Fukao, 1987 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| yellowfin fringeheadNeoclinus stephensae Hubbs, 1953 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| onespot fringeheadNeoclinus uninotatus Hubbs, 1953 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Neoclinus satiricus Girard, 1859 Girard, 1859 | 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.
- Girard, C. F. (1858). Fishes. In: General Report upon Zoology of the Several Pacific Railroad Routes, 1857. In: Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, v. 10. Beverley T, Pp. i–xiv, 1–400, Pls. 7–8, 13–14, 17–18, 22c, 26, 29–30, 34, 37, 40–41, 48, 53, 59, 61, 64–65, 71. 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:46D64. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.