Species: Acanthemblemaria johnsoni, Whitecheeked Blenny

Acanthemblemaria johnsoni Almany & Baldwin, 1996

Whitecheeked Blenny

Body elongate; short blunt head; blunt spines (each covered with a simple tapering papilla) from snout to <1/2 way between rear of eye and dorsal fin; cirri on nostrils and over eyes (1 pair, usually unbranched), but not on nape; multiple rows of well-developed teeth on side of roof of mouth; dorsal fin, XXIV, 12-13, a notch between spiny and soft parts; pelvics I (internal), 2-3, inserted before pectoral base; all fin rays unbranched; no lateral line; no scales.

Light tan, with a dark head and front body; an oval dark blotch behind eye, followed by a row of bright white blotches on operculum, the pectoral base and back along the flank; front 2/3 of body with dark bars (1st above pectoral base, last near last dorsal soft ray), each about as wide as distance between 2/3 dorsal fin elements and is darkest at mid-side; dorsal fin pigment at tips of spines I-IX, darkest at front. Males with black head, body and dorsal fin back to level of mid-belly.

Reaches 3.1 cm.

Lives in worm tubes and holes on reefs and rocky bottoms.

Depth range: 0-12 m.

SE Caribbean.