Summary ²

The false cleanerfish, (Aspidontus taeniatus), is a species of combtooth blenny, a Batesian mimic that copies both the dance and appearance of Labroides dimidiatus, a similarly colored species of cleaner wrasse. Likely mimicking the bluestreak cleaner wrasse primarily to avoid predation,A. taeniatus will also occasionally bite the fins of its victims rather than consume parasites. Most veiled attacks occur on juvenile fish, as adults that have been attacked in the past may avoid or even attack...

Sources and Credits

1. (c) FishWise Professional, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.fishwisepro.com/pics/jpg/068068F000009W000009.jpg
2. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspidontus_taeniatus

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Fish Database of Taiwan
• FishBase
• FishSource
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• VertNet
• World Register of Marine Species

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