A blenny, Acanthemblemaria aceroi, enters the LRT basal to giant wolffish

Acanthemblemaria aceroi (genus: Metzelaar 1919; species: Hastings, Eytan and Summers 2020) is a newly described tube blenny. Note the vestige maxilla (green) detached from the lacrimal (tan). Here it nests basal to Anarhichas (Fig 2) and Meiacanthus. That clade nests between the Neoclinus clade and the Channa clade in the large reptile tree (LRT, 2194 taxa).

Anarhichas vomerinus (Linneaus 1758; 1.5m length) is the extant Atlantic wolffish. It nests as a terminal taxon, derived from Acanthemblemaria (Fig 1) and close to Meiacanthus. The marginal and vomer teeth are robust. The conjoined temporal fenestra meet dorsally along a thin ridge. Pelvic fins are absent.

Meiacanthus grammistes (originally Blennechis grammistes Cuvier and Valenciennes 1836, Fig 1) is the striped poison-fang blenny. It lives in the warm Western Pacific and grows to 11cm in length. The lower jaw is notable for its large venomous upside-down saber teeth. We looked at venomous, fanged Meicanthus a few days ago.

Attempts to move gobies over to blennies
have failed. Adding even more taxa might help, but at present gobies resemble blennies by convergence according to present data in the LRT.

References
Cuvier G and Valenciennes A 1836. Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome onzième. Livre treizième. De la famille des Mugiloïdes. Livre quatorzième. De la famille des Gobioïdes. v. 11: i-xx + 1-506 + 2 pp., Pls. 307-343. [Valenciennes authored volume. i-xv + 1-373 in Strasbourg edition.]
Girard CF 1858. Fishes. In: General report upon zoology of the several Pacific railroad routes, 1857 (, ed.), Beverley Tucker, Washington, D.C. No. U.S. Senate Document No. 78: i-xiv, 1-400, pls. 1-21.
Linnaeus C 1758. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.
Lund R and Grogan E 2004. Five new euchondrocephalan Chondrichthyes from the Bear Gulch Limestone (Serpukhovian, Namurian E2b) of Montana, USA. In G. Arratia, M. Wilson, R. Cloutier (eds.), Recent Advances in the Origin and Early Radiation of Vertebrates 505-531.
Traquair RH 1886. On Harpacanthus, a new genus of Carboniferous Selachian Spines. Journal of Natural History. Series 5. 18(108): 493–496.

wiki/Atlantic_wolffish
wiki/Meiacanthus
wiki/Acanthemblemaria