Tompot blenny inquisitive and are often seen by scuba divers. Tompots are usually a deep brown/orange, and are distinguished by a pair of lappets (tentacles) above the eyes and seven or more darker stripes along the body. It feeds on sea anemones or crustaceans. As most fish, tompots harbour several species of parasites, including the capillariid Nematode "Pseudocapillaria bainae". This parasite has been found in the intestine of specimens caught off Italy and Montenegro. Its biology is unknown. Tompot blenny The tompot blenny ("Parablennius gattorugine") is a medium-sized blenny growing to about , part of the large family of blennies that live
Sphinx blenny mating, the blennies form distinct pairs, and the females lay up to 7000 eggs in a sitting, which are then guarded in burrows by the males. Males are known to cannibalize dead eggs to prevent infection spread amongst the healthy eggs, although in smaller broods they have also been reported consuming living eggs. It is believed that this is due to limited feeding opportunities for the males during breeding, as a result of their restriction to the nests. FishBase considers the blennies to be of Low Vulnerability, with a reproductive doubling time of less than 15 months. Sphinx blenny The