Species: Starksia nanodes, Dwarf Blenny

Starksia nanodes Bohlke & Springer, 1961

Dwarf Blenny

Body elongate, compressed; bluntly pointed head; eye, nostril and nape cirri unbranched; dorsal fin XVIII, 7-9, a notch between spines and rays; 1st anal spine of male long, free from rest of fin, modified as sexual organ, no ridge or fold along anal fin base; pectorals usually 13-14; pelvic fins I (internal), 2, inserted before pectoral base; all fin rays unbranched; lateral line continuous, front section arched, rear section straight, 13 (12-14) + 21 (20-22) scales; belly and pectorals naked; smooth scales on rear of body.

Pale brown; a broad white band between eyes with a narrow extension down the middle of the snout; an oblique dark blotch down and back from eye; body with a series of ~7 indistinct reddish-brown bars with narrow interspaces, upper part of interspaces may be white, both bars and interspaces extend onto dorsal fin, the former as spots; a pair of large fan-shaped dark brown blotches with a thin white bar behind them at base of tail fin.

Reaches 2.2 cm.

Lives in coral-rich areas, typically on dropoffs.

Depth range: 11-30 m.

The Bahamas to the S Caribbean.