Scartella cristata

Molly miller
Scartella cristata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Suborder:	Blennioidei
Family:	Blenniidae
Genus:	Scartella
Species:	S. cristata
Binomial name
Scartella cristata (Linnaeus, 1758)

The molly miller (Scartella cristata) is a species of fish of the Blenniidae family (combtooth blennies) in the order Perciformes. It can be found in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and northwest Pacific Oceans. Its color is a mottled tan, white, and black covering the body and fins. The head of this fish is covered with short hair-like appendages and has two very large eyes. This species reaches 12 cm (4.7 in) in total length.

Reproduction

This blenny is oviparous; its eggs are demersal and adhesive.

Habitat

The molly miller is a marine tropical fish that lives in rocks or coral reefs 0–10 m below the surface. Coral reefs are perfect places for the fish to hunt and feed on the small crustaceans and algae that make up its omnivorous diet, and give them shelter and places to hide, as well.

Distribution

It lives in the western Atlantic from Bermuda, Florida, and northern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil, and in the eastern Atlantic from Mauritania and the Canary Islands to Namibia. The fish can be found in the southern Mediterranean, including near Milan, Sicily, and the Peloponnese (Greece). It also lives near Japan and Taiwan.

Bibliography

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