Species: Chasmodes longimaxilla, Stretchjaw Blenny

Chasmodes longimaxilla Williams, 1983

Stretchjaw Blenny

Elongate, compressed; short blunt head with pointed snout and curved front profile; a single, small cirrus at eye (sometimes missing), a filamentous flap at front nostril; top jaw relatively long, usually 17.3 (15.5-20)% of SL; teeth closely packed, no canines; lower jaw teeth with distinctly pointed tips; front sides of lower jaws without prominent skin flaps; 11 (9-12) gill rakers; gill openings restricted to sides of body by fusion of gill cover membranes to throat; dorsal fin with at most a slight 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 mid-body; no scales.

Olive to greenish, with light stripes and mottling; an iridescent blue spot between dorsal spines I-II, an orange streak from that spot to ~spine X.

Reaches 9.4 cm.

Lives in oyster beds, sometimes in seagrass beds; usually in brackish water.

Depth range: 0-10 m.

The Gulf of Mexico.