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Species: Malacoctenus delalandii, Delaland Blenny

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

opercle - indistinct ocellus
greenish, 5 long bars, extend to D edge
D ~XIX
length 3rd pelvic ray > 1/4 longest ray
pectoral ~14, base no scales
LL 48-62

Malacoctenus delalandii (Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1836)

Delaland Blenny

Head slender, snout pointed; <6 cirri over both nostrils, 12-18 cirri on each side of nape, usually >2 cirri 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, usually XX (rarely XIX or XXI), 9-12; anal rays II, 17-21; pectoral rays 14-15 (rarely 13); pelvic fins with I (internal), 3, last ray difficult to see, its length 1/2-1/3 length of 2nd ray, inserted before pectoral base; all fin rays unbranched; 48-62 lateral line scales; no scales on pectoral fin base or along center of nape; breast fully scaled in male, usually naked in female; lateral line tubes or canals at least on front of body; smooth scales on rear of body.

Grey-brown in male, greenish-brown in female, darker above; a series of 5 dark bars from top to bottom of body between front 1/3 of dorsal fin and end of tail base, extending to edge of dorsal fin; sometimes a broad dark stripe from eye to end of tail base; dorsal fin with dark bars and whitish interspaces; male with an often indistinct vertically oval ocellus on lower edge of operculum, rest of head mottled with green-brown; tail fin sometimes with vertical narrow bars, anal fin with narrow diagonal bars.

Reaches 8.2 cm.

Shallow sheltered rocky reef, rubble and algae, also seagrass beds in turbid water situations.

Depth range: 0-3 m.

Central Caribbean to Brazil.


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Salinity
  • Brackish
  • Marine
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Inshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Rocks
  • Sand & gravel
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Submerged vegetation
  • Estuary
  • 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 non-endemic
  • West Atlantic Endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Also in Brazil
  • Continent
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • Continental primarily
  • Extends South of GC
  • GC non-endemic
  • Island (s)
  • All species
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
IUCN Red List
  • Least concern
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 8.2
Depth Range Min
  • 0
Depth Range Max
  • 3