Blackedge Nibbler is a dark fish that lives along rocky shores in East Asia. Adults have a black edge at the back of the gill cover and a more deeply forked tail than largescale blackfish. Young fish of the two species can be difficult to tell apart by appearance.

Appearance

Appearance
This dark fish has a black edge at the back of its gill cover and a more deeply forked tail than the similar largescale blackfish (Girella punctata). Young fish of the two species can be very hard to separate by appearance.

Where it lives

Typical habitats
  • Shallow rocky reefs
Range
Its usual range stretches from Hong Kong to Japan. In U.S. waters, it has been recorded at Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a stray rather than an established population.

Behavior

Diet
In its East Asian range, it grazes algae and also eats small crustaceans.

Name and classification

About the name
Older sources sometimes mislabeled Blackedge Nibbler as Girella melanichthys. Blackedge Nibbler is also called smallscale blackfish.

Conservation

IUCN Red List
NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
8 sources
  1. iNaturalist taxon API: Girella leonina
  2. Taiwan Fish Database: Girella leonina
  3. 日本大学: 岩礁性魚類メジナ・クロメジナの再生産機構
  4. FishBase: Girella leonina
  5. Bishop Museum: Checklist of the Fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago
  6. Identification of Girella punctata and Girella leonina by PCR-RFLP analysis
  7. 국립해양생물자원관 MBRIS: 긴꼬리벵에돔
  8. 千葉県立中央博物館: クロメジナ
Blackedge Nibbler (Girella leonina) — identification, habitat & look-alikes | Moeyo