Lepidoblennius haplodactylus
A rare rockpool-hopping blenny logged off New South Wales in mild 17.6-25.2 C water, year-round if you know where to look.
A small, stocky blenny reaching around 8 cm, with a mottled brown to olive body that blends closely into rocky and algae-covered substrate. Look for the blunt head, high-set eyes, and the way it perches propped on its pectoral fins rather than swimming freely. It has no bold stripes or bright patches, so it reads as a camouflaged lump on the rock until it moves.
Expect to find it wedged into rock crevices or perched on ledges rather than cruising open water, using those strong pectoral fins to grip and hop between perches instead of swimming continuously. It sits still and relies on camouflage when divers approach, so slow, close looking along rocky reef structure is more productive than scanning from a distance.
Its common name comes from a real trait shared with other triplefin-type blennies: it uses its pectoral fins almost like little legs to hop from perch to perch across rock rather than relying on continuous swimming.
Sighting data does not show a concentrated season, and the observed temperature range of 17.6 to 25.2 C spans much of the NSW diving calendar, so it looks like a year-round possibility rather than a seasonal specialty.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
Logged so far only off New South Wales, Australia, making this a regional target rather than a species you can plan a trip around anywhere else. If you are diving temperate NSW rocky reefs, keep this one on your checklist rather than expecting it on tropical Australian sites.
Mapping where Eastern Jumping Blenny is logged…
The only confirmed sightings so far are from rocky reef sites in New South Wales, Australia, so it is currently a regional NSW find rather than a species reported elsewhere.
There is no clear season in the sighting data, and it has been recorded across a wide temperature range from 17.6 to 25.2 C, so it appears to be findable year-round on NSW rocky reefs.
Look for a small, mottled brown blenny around 8 cm long, perched on rock rather than swimming, with a blunt head and no strong stripes or bright colour patches to key on.
They stay small, typically reaching around 8 centimetres in length, which keeps them easy to overlook against rocky, algae-covered substrate.
It uses its pectoral fins to prop itself up and hop between rocky perches rather than swimming continuously, a trait that gives this group of blennies their jumping common name.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Klipfish
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