Blennioidei

Blennies (from the Greek and , mucus, slime) are a diverse clade of ray-finned fish in the suborder Blennioidei of the percomorph order Blenniiformes. They inhabit marine, brackish, and occasionally freshwater habitats, and generally share similar morphology and behaviour. About 151 genera and nearly 900 species have been described within the order.

== Taxonomy == The order was formerly classified as a suborder of the Perciformes. However, the 5th Edition of Fishes of the World divided the Perciformes into a number of new orders and the Blenniiformes were placed in the percomorph clade Ovalentaria alongside the such taxa as Cichliformes, Mugiliformes and Gobiesociformes. ''Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes added many more taxa, including the damselfishes and clingfishes, into the Blenniiformes, so the "true blennies" were redefined as the suborder Blennioidei.