The false cleanerfish (Aspidontus taeniatus) is a species of combtooth blenny, a mimic that copies both the dance and appearance of Labroides dimidiatus (the bluestreak cleaner wrasse), a similarly colored species of cleaner wrasse. It likely mimics that species to avoid predation, as well as to occasionally bite the fins of its victims rather than consume parasites. Most veiled attacks occur on juvenile fish, as adults that have been attacked in the past may avoid or even attack A. taeniatus.
It is indigenous to coral reef habitats in the Indo-Pacific.
The false cleanerfish primarily lives in coral reef margins among the cleaning stations of the bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus), and are usually seen near locations of one or more L. dimidiatus. With its territory primarily overlapping with its model fish, the false cleanerfish mimics both the appearance and occasionally the behavior of said fish. Though A. taeniatus is typically known to exhibit the characteristic black stripe and blue body and general body shape and structure of L. dimidiatus, some individuals have been witnessed to mimic the appearance of other reef fish, as well as atypically colored cleaner wrasses that live in the same territory.
Juvenile A. taeniatus fish match the appearance of juvenile L. dimidiatus (black body, blue dorsal stripe), and continue to match the coloration of cleaner wrasses of the same size throughout growth. It is not known whether the false cleanerfish adopts a permanent color pattern or if it alters its coloration to mimic the appearance of neighboring cleaner wrasses.
One major difference in appearance between the false cleanerfish and its model is the location of the mouth. A. taeniatus has an underslung mouth, whereas L. dimidiatus has its mouth in the terminal position. Additionally, the false cleanerfish has a small set of teeth on the upper mandible, as well as enormous canines that protrude from its lower jaw and fit into sockets laterally on the roof of its mouth.
