Species: Stathmonotus hemphillii, Blackbelly blenny
Stathmonotus hemphillii Bean, 1885
Blackbelly blenny
Elongate, worm-like body; short, bluntly pointed head; no cirri on nostrils, over eye, on nape or on preoperculum; large oblique mouth; teeth on front of roof of mouth; rear edge of preopercle covered with skin; dorsal fin composed entirely of spines, with many elements, XLV-LV; anal fin II, 23-29; dorsal and anal fins at most slightly joined to tail fin; pectoral fin tiny, with 4-5 weak rays; pelvics I (internal), 2-3, inserted before pectoral base; all fin rays unbranched; no scales; no lateral line.
Sexually dimorphic colors; variable in males with both dark and light morphs: pale morph may be colorless or with a network of pale spots on cheek and between eyes; dark morph with red to black body, a dark-edged white blotch on cheek, fins edges white, sometimes with white Vs of bars on dorsal and anal fins. Females without body pigment, with a network of 4-6 dark lines from eye down and sometimes up.
Reaches 5 cm.
Lives in hard substrata.
Depth range: 1-30 m, usually in shallow water.
The Bahamas to the central Caribbean.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine Only
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Reef only
- Rocks
- Corals
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic worms
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- 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)
- All species..
- Continent + Island (s)
- Continent
- GC endemic
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 5
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 30
