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Species: Malacoctenus aurolineatus, Goldline Blenny

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lower body: thin gold stripes
2nd + 3rd body bars form H

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.


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