Parablennius sanguinolentus
Uncommon but findable in Catalonia and Kvarner, this shallow rockpool blenny turns up year-round in water from 12.5 to 24.5 C.
A stocky little blenny, around 14 cm, mottled in olive-brown to rust tones that blend into algae-covered rock. Look for the blunt head, a single continuous dorsal fin running most of the body length, and faint darker crossbands that fade in and out depending on mood and background. It sits propped on its pectoral fins rather than swimming freely, which is often the first thing that gives it away.
Found in water so shallow that snorkellers see it as often as divers, usually parked motionless on rock or in a crevice within the first metre of the surface. It grazes algae off the rock surface in short bursts and holds its ground rather than bolting, though it will duck into a crack if you get too close. Most sightings come from calm, sunlit rocky shorelines rather than open reef or sand.
Its diet is entirely algae, and that grazing keeps rock surfaces in its shallow territory clear, a small but constant bit of reef housekeeping most divers swim straight past.
No strong seasonal pattern shows in the sightings, and its temperature range of 12.5 to 24.5 C spans a full Mediterranean year, so it is worth checking any time you are diving or snorkelling its shallow rocky habitat.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
This is a shallow-water Mediterranean regular, most reliably logged in Spain, Italy, Croatia, France and Greece, with a further presence in Turkey, Cyprus and Malta. Within those countries the strongest logs come from the French Riviera and Provence, Kvarner, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Sicily, Central Dalmatia, Istria and the Saronic Gulf around Athens.
Mapping where Rusty Blenny is logged…
It is most commonly logged in Spain, Italy, Croatia, France and Greece, with particularly strong records from the French Riviera, Kvarner, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Sicily.
There is no clear season in the sighting data, and it tolerates water from 12.5 to 24.5 C, so it can turn up on Mediterranean rocky shores at any time of year.
Look for a small, chunky fish around 14 cm, rust to olive-brown with faint mottled crossbands, sitting propped on a shallow rock or in a crevice rather than swimming in open water.
They reach about 14 cm, a small, easy-to-overlook fish best spotted by scanning shallow rock rather than open water.
No, they pose no threat to divers or snorkellers and simply retreat into rock crevices if approached too closely.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Shanny
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