Species: Chasmodes bosquianus, Striped Blenny

Chasmodes bosquianus (Lacepede, 1800)

Striped Blenny

Elongate heavy, compressed body; deep pointed head, with an even profile slope from snout to dorsal fin; a single, small cirrus at eye, a filamentous flap at front nostril; top jaw relatively short, usually 14.9 (13-16.5)% of SL; teeth closely packed, slender, curved, no canines, lower jaw teeth with distinctly pointed tips; front sides of lower jaws without prominent skin flaps; gill rakers 12 (11-13); gill openings restricted to sides of body by fusion of gill cover membranes to throat; dorsal fin without a notch between spiny & soft parts, XI, 16-19; anal fin II, 16-20; tail fin with 10-11 segmented rays; pectoral usually 12; fin rays unbranched, except on tail fin; lateral line ends about midbody; no scales.

Olive; operculum densely peppered with dark dots; body with dark wavy stripes and thin pale interspaces, dark lines radiating down from eye; an iridescent blue spot between dorsal spines I-II, an orange stripe bordered below by a dark stripe from that spot to ~spine X; fins heavily mottled, with pale spots.

Reaches 15 cm.

Found in bays and estuaries, usually in brackish water; lives in oyster beds, retreats to deep part of its habitat range during winter.

Depth range: 0-30 m.

New York to Florida.