Thomas' triplefin (Norfolkia thomasi) is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Norfolkia.[2] It was described by Gilbert Percy Whitley in 1964,[3] naming it in honour of Leonard Rees Thomas who organised the Australian Museum's 1962 Swain Reefs Expedition.[4] The hemispherical eggs of the Thomas' triplefin are covered in sticky threads that help anchor them in the algae on their nesting sites. This adaption helps insure the safety of the eggs. One the eggs hatch the larvae that emerge are planktonic and they stick to shallow waters near the shore. The matured Thomas' triplefin then ventures out into the coral reef and intertidal pools.[2] This species is found in the western Pacific Ocean from the Ryukyu Islands to the Tuamoto Archipelago, in Australia it is distributed from the northern Great Barrier Reef south to Byron Bay, New South Wales.[5]
| Thomas' triplefin | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Blenniiformes |
| Family: | Tripterygiidae |
| Genus: | Norfolkia |
| Species: | N. thomasi
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| Binomial name | |
| Norfolkia thomasi Whitley, 1964
| |
References edit
- ^ Williams, J.; Holleman, W. (2014). "Norfolkia thomasi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T179043A1562928. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T179043A1562928.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Norfolkia thomasi'" in FishBase. April 2019 version.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Norfolkia thomasi". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara (29 January 2019). "Order BLENNIIFORMES: Families TRIPTERYGIIDAE and DACTYLOSCOPIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ "Norfolkia thomasi". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
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