Acanthemblemaria medusa Smith-Vaniz & Palacio, 1974
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
Acanthemblemaria medusa, the medusa blenny, is a species of chaenopsid blenny found in coral reefs around Lesser Antilles, in the western central Atlantic ocean. It can reach a maximum length of 4 cm (1.6 in) TL.
Wikipedia contributors, Acanthemblemaria medusa; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T18:55:45.968240+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Acanthemblemaria medusa Smith-Vaniz & Palacio, 1974
- Name authority
- Smith-Vaniz & Palacio, 1974
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Blenniiformes
- Family
- Chaenopsidae
- Genus
- Acanthemblemaria
- 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
- genusAcanthemblemaria Metzelaar, 1919
- speciesAcanthemblemaria medusa Smith-Vaniz & Palacio, 1974
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Acanthemblemaria. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| roughhead blennyAcanthemblemaria aspera (Longley, 1927) | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Acanthemblemaria betinensis Smith-Vaniz & Palacio, 1974 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| browncheek blennyAcanthemblemaria crockeri Beebe & Tee-Van, 1938 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Acanthemblemaria exilispinus Stephens, 1963 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Acanthemblemaria hastingsi Lin & Galland, 2010 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Acanthemblemaria rivasi Stephens, 1970 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| spinyhead blennyAcanthemblemaria spinosa Metzelaar, 1919 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Acanthemblemaria harpeza Williams, 2002 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mexican barnacle blennyAcanthemblemaria macrospilus Brock, 1940 | ChaenopsidaeChordata | 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., & Palacio, F. J. (1974). Atlantic fishes of the genus Acanthemblemaria, with description of three new species and comments on Pacific species (Clinidae: Chaenopsinae). Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 125: 197–224. 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:8TJH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.