Morphologie des Gebisses und Nahrungspraferenzen von dreizehn adriatischen Blenniiden (Teleostei, Perciformes)

The morphology and arrangement of the teeth in 13 sympatric species of the genus Blennius were investigated by SEM. All the species were collected in the upper littoral of the Northern Adriatic near Rovinj (Yugoslavia) and represent the total species inventory of the genus Blennius in this area. After analysing the content and length of the intestine, four groups with different feeding habits could be distinguished to which the morphological adaptations of the teeth could be correlated. There is a non-selective omnivorous group of Aufwuchs-grazer which take the inhabiting vagilfauna {Blennius gattorugine, B. incognitas, B. tentacularis ), a herbivorous group ( B. sanguinolentus, B. sphynx, B. canevae ), a carnivorous group ( B. trigloides, B. dalmatinus, B. rouxi ), and a linking group between omnivorous grazers and carnivores (B. adriaticus, B. pavo, B. nigriceps). B. galerita shows a preponderance of comblike teeth and feeds exclusively scraping microscopic algae from the rocky substrate. The morphology and position of the caniniforms vary greatly within the investigated species. The dentition on the vomer is lacking in five species and seems of no consequence in the uptake of food.