Gobiesox punctulatus
Stippled Clingfish
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Gobiesocidae (Clingfishes)
Gobiesox
Gobiesox punctulatus (Stippled Clingfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
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Characters
Poorly developed papillae on head, broad upper lip, relatively large sucking disc, head broader than body, snout continuous with head, upper lip broadest near symphysis, nares tubelike with anterior naris possessing a bilobed flap on posterior margin, teeth in front of upper jaw conical and irregular in shape and size, teeth in lower jaw arranged in two rows, suboperculum bears a sharp spine, gill membranes united and free of isthmus, second and third gill arches each have seven gill rakers, pectoral fin has 19 to 22 (usually 21) rays, dorsal fin has 11 or 12 (usually 11) rays, anal fin has 7 to 9 (usually 8) rays, measurements (% SL): head length 41.7%–45.5%, head width 37%–41.7%, snout length 11.7%–14.5%, disc length 37.4%–40%, body depth 17.5%–22.2%
Gray to olive and stippled with small black spots, occasionally with bars on head
Distribution
Western Atlantic from the northern Gulf of Mexico to northern South America
Recorded from the Texas coast, although considered unverified by Hoese and Moore (1998)
Habitat Associations
Associated with limestone substrates in clear, shallow water
Limestone substrates
Biology
Maximum known size is 63 mm TL
Most common on limestone rocks and ledges in clear shallow water.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-03-21. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Briggs 1955
Robins and Ray 1986
Smith 1997
McEachran 2002b
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
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