Species: Malacoctenus aurolineatus, Goldline blenny


Malacoctenus aurolineatus Smith, 1957
Goldline blenny
Head slender, snout pointed; a simple cirrus over each nostril, 9-13 cirri on each side of nape, a forked cirrus over each eye; upper part of rear end of top jaw covered by bone under eye; no small teeth behind outer row of large teeth on upper jaws; no teeth on sides of roof of mouth; notch between spines and rays of dorsal fin, XIX (XVIII-XXI), 10-12, last ray not connected to base of tail fin by membrane; pectoral rays usually 14; pelvic fins with I (internal), 3, last ray difficult to see, its length >1/4 length of longest ray, inserted before pectoral base; all fin rays unbranched; 42-55 lateral line scales; no scales on breast or pectoral fin base; no central scale on nape before dorsal fin; lateral line tubes or canals at least on front of body; smooth scales on rear of body.
Head brown above, whitish below; rear body often yellowish; body with 3 close-set thick dark bars under spiny dorsal (the last two fusing on the midline to form an H), then a wide whitish bar behind that then 3-4 indistinct brown bars; thin gold stripes along lower body.
Reaches 7.5 cm.
Lives in shallow, coral habitats; associates with rock-boring sea urchins along rocky shorelines.
Depth range: 0-4.5 m, usually < 2 m.
The Bahamas to the S Caribbean.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Rocks
- Reef and soft bottom
- Corals
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic worms
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Data
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Benthic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- West Atlantic Endemic
- All species.
- Greater Caribbean endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent
- Continental primarily
- GC endemic
- Continent + Island (s)
- All species..
- Island (s)
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 7.5
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 5