Species: Gobioclinus guppyi, Mimic Blenny

Gobioclinus guppyi (Norman, 1922)

Mimic Blenny

Body robust; head broad, snout blunt; eye large; a branched cirrus over each eye, 2 or more cirri on each side of nape; mouth large, slightly oblique, rear of top jawbone exposed, not in a sheath; patches of small teeth behind outer row of large teeth on upper jaw; teeth present on sides of roof of mouth, some at least are distinctly larger than teeth at front of roof of mouth; usually 13-14 gill rakers; large fish with > 2 pores at tip of chin; notch between spines and rays of dorsal fin, XIX (XVIII-XIX), 10-12; 1st spine shorter than all, but last few spines; anal fin II, usually 19; pelvic fins with 1 internal spine, 3 soft rays, length of 3rd ray >½ length of longest ray, inserted before pectoral base; all fin rays unbranched; pectoral rays usually 13; 48-53 lateral line scales; lateral line tubes or canals at least on front of body; smooth scales on rear of body.

Body brown with a greenish cast, barred with brown to purplish black, sometimes males almost entirely black; a well developed ocellus on operculum of small and large fish; body with ~5 dark bars that extend onto dorsal and anal fins, 2nd bar narrow; lining of body cavity white, with scattered dark dots; base of tail fin with a narrow dark bar; females fins pale greenish, heavily spotted; males fins reddish with a few spots; dorsal fin without front spot or ocellus.

Reaches 10.8 cm.

Lives in a variety of habitats: tide pools, rock mixed with sand, low overgrown coral, patch reefs, limestone slope.

Depth range: 0-8 m.

Florida to the S Caribbean, possibly Brazil.