Species: Malacoctenus boehlkei, Diamond blenny
Malacoctenus boehlkei Springer, 1959
Diamond blenny
Head slender, snout pointed; a pair of heavily branched nape cirri, a branched cirrus over 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 jaw; no teeth on sides of roof of mouth; dorsal fin XVIII-XXIII, 9-12, notch between spines and rays; pectoral rays usually 15; pelvic fins very long, reach well past anal fin origin, 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; 40-69 lateral line scales; lateral line tubes or canals at least on front of body; smooth scales on rear of body.
Head yellowish brown, body pale tan; a brown stripe from eye along snout, top of head between and behind eyes dark brown, bordered at the front and behind by yellow; 7 (black in male, brownish-orange in female) pale centered saddles along upper back; lower body with pale spots and a row of ~8 dark, white centered diamonds; a large black, yellow-ringed ocellus at front of dorsal fin.
Reaches 6.4 cm.
Found on both fore-reef dropoffs and lagoonal patch reefs.
Depth range: 2-30 m, usually below 8 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
- Corals
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Reef only
- Sea anemones
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Sessile worms
- Data
- Mobile benthic worms
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- 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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- Continental primarily
- GC endemic
- Continent + Island (s)
- All species..
- Island (s)
- Continent
- 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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- 6.4
- Depth Range Min
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- 2
- Depth Range Max
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- 30
