© Baker, J.L. (2009) Marine Species of Conservation Concern in South Australia Full citation Baker, J.L. (2009) Marine Species of Conservation Concern in South Australia: Volume 1 - Bony and Cartilaginous Fishes. Report for the South Australian Working Group for Marine Species of Conservation Concern. J. Baker (consultant); Science and Conservation Division, and Coast and Marine Conservation branches of S.A. Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH); Marine and Coastal Community Network of S.A. (MCCN), and Threatened Species Network (TSN). Web version published by Reef Watch, South Australia.

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Eel-blenny / Eel Snake Blenny

Family Name:	Clinidae
Scientific Name:	Peronedys anguillaris Steindachner, 1883
Recommended Status in S.A:	Data Deficient
Rationale:  Eel-blenny is included here because (i) it has a restricted geographic range, found mainly in the gulfs region of S.A., with isolated records from southern W.A.;  (ii) it is a benthic species with strong habitat association, and found over a very narrow depth range, and may thus be vulnerable to habitat impacts in some areas (such as physical disturbance to habitat and siltation from dredging, channel development, boating in shallow seagrass beds; also sediment- and effluent-induced dieback of seagrasses and macroalgae etc), but specific data are lacking; (iii) it is a member of the Clinidae, a family of viviparous fishes with low dispersive ability, a characteristic that can increase vulnerability to processes causing population decline; (iv) there is little information on distribution, relative abundance / population sizes within the range (including S.A.), biology and population dynamics of this species

Page Contents

Current Conservation Status

No IUCN (1996, 2000) or ASFB Listings
In Australia, Pogonoski et al. (2002) suggested as Data Deficient on an Australia-wide basis, because more information was needed to accurately assess the conservation status of this species.
Australian Society of Fish Biology 2001 list: Data Deficient

Distribution

Southern Australia

Eel-blenny P. anguillaris is endemic to Australian waters, mostly known from South Australia and southern Western Australia (Recherche Archipelago) (Pogonoski et al., 2002; Hutchins, 2005).

South Australia

The species is generally considered to have a restricted distribution, but although uncommonly recorded, the known distribution to date covers the western and central part of the South Australia coast. Examples of locations in which the species has been recorded include Smoky Bay in the eastern Great Australian Bight; parts of Spencer Gulf, such as the Port Victoria area in central eastern Spencer Gulf, and the Port Lincoln area in south-western Spencer Gulf; a site on the “toe” of Yorke Peninsula; Edithburgh, Oyster Bay / Stansbury and other areas of Gulf St Vincent; and the bays of north-eastern Kangaroo Island, such as Pelican Lagoon, American River and Nepean Bay (Hoese et al., in Gomon et al., 1994; CSIRO Marine Research record, cited in CSIRO, 2005; photographs by J. Lewis, November, 2004; Australian Museum records; S.A. Museum records, 1905, 1938, 1960, 1965, and 1977; Museum of Victoria records, cited in OZCAM database, 2007; S.A. Museum data, cited by R. Foster, pers. comm., 2007).

Habitat

Eel-blenny is known mainly from seagrass habitats, but has also been recorded in reef habitat (Hutchins, 2005). The species is known from among seagrass roots (Hoese et al., in Gomon et al., 1994), in calm bays and still estuaries (including mud-bottomed estuaries) with prolific seagrasses forming mats over decaying ones, such as Pelican Lagoon on Kangaroo Island (Kuiter, 1993; Kuiter, 1996a, cited by Pogonoski et al. 2002; see also Fricke, 1994).
In American River on Kangaroo Island, the species has been recorded from mud habitat (National Museum of Natural History record, cited by Anonymous, 2001, in Froese and Pauly, 2006). In south-western Australia, P. anguillaris has been recorded rarely in reef and seagrass habitats, in mainland bays (Hutchins, 2005). The depth range is about 0m – 6m (unreferenced, in Pogonoski et al., 2002).

Notes on the Biology

Eel-blenny grows to 13cm (Hoese et al., in Gomon et al., 1994).
The species is a live bearer (Neira et al., 1998), a characteristic feature of the Clinidae.

Vulnerable Characteristics of the Species

The species appears to have a restricted depth range (less than 10m).
Eel-blenny is reported to depend on a specific habitat type (see section above), also of restricted distribution. Protected bays associated with seagrass habitats appear critical to the survival of Eel-blenny (Pogonoski et al., 2002).
In addition to the threats listed below, the species is included here due to its restricted distribution, and because members of the Clinidae (the family to which Peronedys belongs) are viviparous (bear live young), and therefore have low dispersive ability, a characteristic that can increase vulnerability to processes causing population decline.

Threatening Processes

It is noted that one specimen of Eel-blenny was recorded in dredge washings from Spencer Gulf (South Australian Museum record, 1938, cited in OZCAM database, 2007), and dredging of sandy and muddy channels in shallow water may pose a threat to this species.
Eel-blenny may be vulnerable to disturbance such as power boating in shallow seagrass beds, other forms of habitat degradation (e.g. see point above), and pollution (R. Kuiter, pers. comm. to T. Flaherty, MCCN, 1995; Kuiter, 1996a). Pogonoski et al. (2002) also reported that pollution and habitat degradation in shallow nearshore areas might be a threat to Eel-blenny populations, due also to the apparent restricted distribution of this species. In some of the areas where this species occurs, it is noted that seagrass habitat has suffered impacts, such as Nepean Bay on Kangaroo Island (e.g. Edyvane, 1997; Gray, 2000). Furthermore, various shallow seagrass habitats in Gulf St Vincent (GSV) and Spencer Gulf are subject to sedimentation from coastal runoff, effluent discharge, physical damage (dredging, channel development, boating etc) and other impacts that reduce the aerial extent and density of seagrass cover (e.g. for GSV, see Shepherd, 1970; Hart, 1996, 1997; Westphalen et al., 2005). However, there are no specific data on the potential impacts of such habitat loss upon Eel-blenny populations.

Management Requirements

Habitat protection is required in areas where this species is known to occur (Pogonoski et al., 2002).

Research Requirements

The biology and accurate distributional range of this species need to be investigated to determine its susceptibility to threats such as pollution and habitat degradation (Pogonoski et al., 2002). Additionally, data on relative abundance and habitat requirements may also help in better determining the susceptibility of snake-blennies to threats. However, the difficulty of determining distribution and relative abundance of small, cryptic, benthic species such as eel-blennies is noted.

Other Information

P. anguillaris is listed on an international website for the aquarium trade (Aquariumsite.org); however no trade information on that species is included on the site.

Support for S.A. Listing:

Graham Edgar (University of Tasmania), and Barry Hutchins (ex-West Australian Museum), both recommending Data Deficient category.