Alticus simplicirrus Smith-Vaniz & Springer, 1971
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
Alticus simplicirrus, the Marquesan rockstripper, is a species of combtooth blenny found in the central Pacific Ocean, around the Marquesas Islands. This species reaches a length of 3.7 centimetres (1.5 in) SL.
A population of blennies of this or a related species on Rarotonga has evolved to become largely terrestrial, apparently at least in part as a way of avoiding marine predators.
Wikipedia contributors, Alticus simplicirrus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T18:58:50.055472+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Alticus simplicirrus Smith-Vaniz & Springer, 1971
- Name authority
- Smith-Vaniz & Springer, 1971
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Blenniiformes
- Family
- Blenniidae
- Genus
- Alticus
- 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
- genusAlticus Lacepède, 1800
- speciesAlticus simplicirrus Smith-Vaniz & Springer, 1971
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Alticus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| leaping blennyAlticus kirkii (Günther, 1868) | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alticus montanoi (Sauvage, 1880) | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alticus arnoldorum (Curtiss, 1938) | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alticus magnusi (Klausewitz, 1964) | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alticus sertatus (Garman, 1903) | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alticus orientalis Tomiyama, 1955 | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alticus aldabrensis (Regan, 1912) | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alticus andersonii (Day, 1876) | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alticus anjouanae (Fourmanoir, 1955) | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alticus saliens (Forster, 1788) | BlenniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alticus monochrus Bleeker, 1869 | BlenniidaeChordata | 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.
- Smith-Vaniz, W. F., & Springer, V. G. (1971). Synopsis of the tribe Salariini, with description of five new genera and three new species (Pisces: Blenniidae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 73: 1–72. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.73 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:65XSF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.