Species: Malacoctenus versicolor, Barfin Blenny

Malacoctenus versicolor (Poey, 1876)
Barfin Blenny
Head slender, snout pointed; usually 7 or more cirri over both nostrils, 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 jaws; no teeth on sides of roof of mouth; notch between spines and rays of dorsal fin, XVIII spines; 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; 40-69 lateral line scales; any scales on pectoral base are smaller than body scales; lateral line tubes or canals at least on front of body; smooth scales on rear of body.
Body whitish in female, reddish in male; a series of ~5 wide dark bars along rear of head and body, extending almost to the edge of the dorsal fin; the high front of the dorsal fin is dark; fins spotted in female but not male.
Reaches 7.8 cm.
Lives on rocky shores and areas of sand and rubble.
Depth range: 0-40 m.
Bahamas to the S Caribbean.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Rocks
- Sand & gravel
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef and soft bottom
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Data
- Omnivore
- Planktivore
- Diet
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- Data
- Zooplankton
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Mobile benthic worms
- Pelagic fish eggs
- Egg Type
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- Benthic
- Data
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Greater Caribbean endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent
- Continent + Island (s)
- GC endemic
- Insular primarily
- Island (s)
- All species
- 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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- 7.8
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 40