Cirripectes vanderbilti (Fowler, 1938)
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
Cirripectes vanderbilti, also known as the scarface blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the Hawaiian and Johnston Atoll in the eastern central Pacific ocean. This species reaches a length of 10 cm (3.9 in) SL. It is commonly confused with Cirripectes variolosus.
The species was first described in 1938 by Henry W. Fowler under the name Ophioblennius vanderbilti from a specimen collected near Diamond Head, Oahu in 1937 by the George Vanderbilt South Pacific Expedition.
Wikipedia contributors, Cirripectes vanderbilti; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:21:24.569789+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cirripectes vanderbilti (Fowler, 1938)
- Name authority
- (Fowler, 1938)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Blenniiformes
- Family
- Blenniidae
- Genus
- Cirripectes
- 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
- familyBlenniidae Rafinesque, 1810
- subfamilySalariinae Gill, 1859
- genusCirripectes Swainson, 1839
- speciesCirripectes vanderbilti (Fowler, 1938)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cirripectes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cirripectes alboapicalis (Ogilby, 1899) | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blackflap blennyCirripectes auritus Carlson, 1981 | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cirripectes chelomatus Williams & Maugé, 1984 | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cirripectes gilberti Williams, 1988 | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cirripectes hutchinsi Williams, 1988 | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cirripectes jenningsi Schultz, 1943 | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cirripectes obscurus (Borodin, 1927) | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| barred blennyCirripectes polyzona (Bleeker, 1868) | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| squiggly blennyCirripectes quagga (Fowler & Ball, 1924) | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cirripectes randalli Williams, 1988 | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| red-streaked blennyCirripectes stigmaticus Strasburg & Schultz, 1953 | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| chestnut blennyCirripectes castaneus (Valenciennes, 1836) | BlenniidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Ophioblennius capillus Reid, 1943 Reid, 1943 | synonym |
| Ophioblennius vanderbilti Fowler, 1938 Fowler, 1938 | 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=276725 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:5Z923. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.