Notoclinops caerulepunctus Hardy, 1989
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 blue dot triplefin (Notoclinops caerulepunctus) is a fish in the genus Notoclinops, found around offshore islands and exposed headlands of the eastern side of Northland, and the Bay of Plenty, on the North Island of New Zealand from depths of a metre or so to about 30 m, and is most commonly found in reef areas with broken rock. with a length of only up to about 5 cm and it is the smallest of the triplefins in New Zealand.
The blue dot triplefin's head is yellow-orange covered with large bright red spots back as far as the first dorsal fin. On the upper half of the rest of the body are a series of dark blue-black square areas, with an iridescent blue spot joining each pair of squares. These dots are often the only thing seen when the fish is resting on rocks covered in colourful encrusting life. It is known to remove parasites from large fishes.
Wikipedia contributors, Blue dot triplefin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:21:59.507877+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Notoclinops caerulepunctus Hardy, 1989
- Name authority
- Hardy, 1989
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Blenniiformes
- Family
- Tripterygiidae
- Genus
- Notoclinops
- 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
- genusNotoclinops Whitley, 1930
- speciesNotoclinops caerulepunctus Hardy, 1989
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Notoclinops. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Notoclinops segmentatus (McCulloch & Phillipps, 1923) | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notoclinops yaldwyni Hardy, 1987 | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Hardy, G. S. (1989). The “blue-dot” triplefin: a new species of Notoclinops Whitley, 1930 (Pisces: Tripterygiidae) from New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 19 (3): 327–332, 1 pl. https://doi.org/10.1080/03036758.1989.10427186 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:47VLB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.