Sealife guideThe leopard blennyExallias brevis

Last updated on 10/29/2025 at 11:52 PM

Taxonomy

Common name: Leopard blenny, shortbodied blenny
French name: Blennie léopard
Spanish name: Blénido leopardo,blenio leopardo
Scientific name: Exallias brevis (Kner, 1868)
Family name: Blenniidae
Order name: Blenniiformes
Class name: Actinopterygii

Description

The leopard blenny typically measures between 3 and 4.5 inches in length, with a maximum size of about 6 inches.

The leopard blenny (Exallias brevis) © Sergey Urvachev | Dreamstime.com

The leopard blenny has a striking and very characteristic coloration. Its body is beige to light brown, entirely covered with irregular brown to dark spots resembling those of a leopard, hence its common name. These patterns may vary slightly depending on the individual or environment, providing excellent camouflage among the corals.

Its fins are often translucent, sometimes marbled, and the head shows dark lines or spots around the eyes. This mimicry allows it to blend into its reef environment while remaining inconspicuous to predators.

Geographic range

The leopard blenny occurs in tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, from the Red sea and the eastern coasts of Africa to the central Pacific islands, including French Polynesia, Hawaii and southern Japan, as well as along the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Habitat

The leopard blenny lives mainly on shallow coral reefs, usually down to about 50 feet.

Diet

The leopard blenny feeds primarily on coralline algae and microalgae, which it grazes on rocks and corals, while occasionally supplementing its diet with small invertebrates such as copepods, mollusk larvae, or planktonic crustaceans. It may also nibble on coral polyps or organic debris on the substrate.

This mixed diet allows it to efficiently adapt to the availability of food on the shallow coral reefs where it lives.

Did you know ?

The leopard blenny is listed as many other marine species within The IUCN Red List of threatened species. The leopard blenny appears in the IUCN Red List since 2014 within the category Least Concern !

The leopard blenny (Exallias brevis) © Alexey Masliy | Dreamstime.com

Within the same family

Aron's blenny
(Ecsenius aroni)

Bluestriped fangblenny
(Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos)

Pictus blenny
(Ecsenius pictus)

Red sea mimic blenny
(Ecsenius gravieri)

Ringneck blenny
(Parablennius pilicornis)

Striped fangblenny
(Meiacanthus grammistes)

Tail spot blenny
(Ecsenius stigmatura)

Tompot blenny
(Parablennius gattorugine)

Discover also

Clown coris
(Coris aygula)

Crocodilefish
(Cymbacephalus beauforti)

Diana's hogfish
(Bodianus diana)

Longfin damselfish
(Stegastes diencaeus)

Lyretail hogfish
(Bodianus anthioides)

Pinecone soldierfish
(Myripristis murdjan)

Steel pompano
(Trachinotus stilbe)

Yellowspotted trevally
(Carangoides fulvoguttatus)

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