Malacoctenus gilli
Dusky Blenny
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Labrisomidae (Labrisomid Blennies)
Malacoctenus
Malacoctenus gilli (Dusky Blenny)
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.
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Characters
Symmetrical dorsal and ventral profiles, maxilla covered posteriorly. Snout is slightly spatulate. Anterior naris is tubular and has a simple cirrus on posterior margin. Supraorbital cirrus is long, slender, and biramous. Nuchal cirrus is long and multifid and has three to seven branches. Maxilla extends to anterior margin of orbit. Lips are fleshy, and upper lip has a continuous fold. Jaw teeth consist of a row of canines. Teeth occur in vomer but not in palatine. Gill rakers on first arch number 9 to 12. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 26%–30%, snout length 8.1%–9.4%, upper jaw length 8.8%–10.7%, pre-dorsal-fin length 26.1%–28.8%, pre-anal-fin length 49.9%–51.9%, body depth at pelvic fin origin 22.9%–25.1%. Pectoral fin has 13 to 16 (usually 14) rays. Dorsal fin has 18 to 21 (usually 20) spines and 9 to 11 rays, with first spine usually more than 11% of SL and longer than third, fourth, and last 4 spines. Pelvic fin has 1 spine and 3 rays, with third ray usually no more than half the length of longest ray. Anal fin has 2 spines and 17 to 21 (usually 18 to 20) rays. Body, including breast, is covered with ctenoid scales except for dorsal midline anterior to dorsal fin and prepectoral region. Lateral line scales number 42 to 47.
Color is tan to dark brown, with five to seven bands on flank that range from moderately developed to obscure. One dark ocellus is located on anterior section of dorsal fin, and a second dark ocellus is located on flank at bases of last several dorsal fin spines and on dorsal fin. Males are reddish dorsally and greenish ventrally, with obscure bands, or very dark and without bands; fins are dusky to unpigmented. Females have better-defined bands and are spotted on both body and fins.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from the western Gulf of Mexico and Bermuda to Venezuela, including the Bahamas and the Greater and Lesser Antilles.
In the Gulf of Mexico it is known from Tampico.
Habitat Associations
Marine. reef-associated. depth range 1-5 m.
Biology
Maximum known size is 75 mm TL.
Inhabits sandy bottoms with rocks or boulders (Ref. 5521), seagrass beds, and patch reefs (Ref. 9710).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2007-10-18. Resilience: High.
References
Springer 1959b,c
Cervigón 1966
Birdsong and Emery 1968
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Greenfield and Johnson 1981
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Williams 2002c
Böhlke, J.E. and C.C.G. Chaplin (1993) Fishes of the Bahamas and adjacent tropical waters. 2nd edition. University of Texas Press, Austin.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Cervigón, F. (1994) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 3. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 295 p.
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