Species: Malacoctenus erdmani, Imitator blenny

back under (but not onto) rear D spines: ocellus

Malacoctenus erdmani Smith, 1957
Imitator blenny
Head slender, snout pointed; usually 2 cirri over nostril and over eye, a pair of heavily branched cirri on each side of nape; upper part of rear end of top jaw covered by bone under eye; small teeth present 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 XIX, 10-12; pectoral rays usually 16; 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; 40-69 lateral line scales; no scales on pectoral fin base; lateral line tubes or canals at least on front of body; smooth scales on rear of body.
Greenish grey, with irregular dark barring on body, that intensify as dark saddles along upper back; belly and lower tail base may have a series of ~10 dark to blackish bars, some joining the upper-body saddles; a black-ringed green ocellus on upper back immediately under but not extending onto last dorsal fin spines; fins without spots.
Reaches 3.8 cm.
Found mainly in rocky areas, sometimes with seagrass.
Depth range: 0-11 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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- Submerged vegetation
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Reef and soft bottom
- Rocks
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic worms
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Data
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Benthic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species.
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Greater Caribbean endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Island (s)
- GC endemic
- Continent + Island (s)
- All species..
- Continent
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 3.8
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 11