Beziehungen zwischen Körperbau und Lebensweise bei Blenniidae (Pisces) aus dem Roten Meer. I. Äußere morphologie

The external morphology of 5 species of salariin Blenniidae has been examined. Differences have been established between Salarias fasciatus living in the sublittoral, Antennablennius hypenetes, Istiblennius edentulus and I. flaviumbrinus inhabiting the eulittoral zone, and, especially, Alticus kirkii living on steep rocks of the supralittoral zone. The rays of the anal and (partly) pectoral fins terminate in little hooks; these are most pronounced in A. kirkii and least developed in S. jasciatus. The pelvic fins are short and broad in A. kirkii, but long and slender in the other 4 species. These structures make it possible to cling to uneven substrates. Fins are protected from rough rocks by a well developed cuticula; this is thickest in A. kirkii. Respiratory organs, adapted to function on land, have been discovered in the form of cutaneous blood vessels on the heads and the bodies of A. kirkii, and (less numerous and less developed) in I. edentulus and I. flaviumbrinus. Sensory organs have become specialized in A. kirkii; the eyes protude from the head, and the lateral line is reduced to a small relict. S. fasciatus and A. kirkii must be regarded as terminal representatives of a sequence of development which followed a trend toward the amphibian way of life.