Hypsoblennius gentilis
Bay Blenny
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Blenniidae (Combtooth Blennies)
Hypsoblennius
Hypsoblennius gentilis (Bay Blenny)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: elongated.
Distribution
Eastern Central Pacific: Monterey Bay, California, USA to Bahia Magdalena (Baja California Sur, Mexico) and the Gulf of California.
Habitat Associations
Brackish, marine. demersal. depth range 0-25 m.
Biology
Adults are found in intertidal shallows (Ref. 11482). Territorial (Ref. 37955). They feed on small benthic invertebrates and algae (Ref. 37955). Demersal spawners in nearshore habitats (Ref. 56049). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs are demersal and adhesive (Ref. 205), and are attached to the walls of the parent's shelter. Eggs are brooded by the male parent (Ref. 56053).
Max length: 15.0 cm TL; max age: 6 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; guarders (nesters); parental care: paternal. Oviparous, distinct pairing (Ref. 205). Female deposits the eggs in protected areas. The male guards the eggs until hatching (Ref. 37955).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2007-05-25. Resilience: Medium (tmax=6.5).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann (1983) A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p.
Allen, G.R. and D.R. Robertson (1994) Fishes of the tropical eastern Pacific. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. 332 p.
De la Cruz Agüero, J., M. Arellano Martínez, V.M. Cota Gómez and G. de la Cruz-Agüero (1997) Catalogo de los peces marinos de Baja California Sur. IPN-CICIMAR, La Paz, Mexico. P. 346.
Stephens, J. Jr., R. Johnson, G. Key and J. McCosker (1970) The comparative ecology of three sympatric species of California blennies of the genus Hypsoblennius. Ecol. Monogr. 40:213-233.
Watson, W. (1996) Blenniidae: combtooth blennies. p. 1182-1199. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current Region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 1505 p.
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