Species: Emblemaria australis, Southern Sailfin Blenny

Emblemaria australis Ramos, Rocha & Rocha, 2003

Southern Sailfin Blenny

Body elongate; head short and blunt, without spines; 2 smooth longitudinal ridges on snout; no bony ridges between eyes; no papilla or fleshy ridges behind eyes; 1 cirrus over eye that is about as long as eye is high, that cirrus either without branches or with very short knobs near expanded tip; head cirri shorter in female; 1 row of 14 (12-15) teeth on each side of roof of mouth; dorsal fin XVIII-XX, 13-16, first spine of male long and filamentous, but without a front flag-like flap, rest of front of fin lower than 1st spine, but also elevated, 1st spine of female longest, but front of fin not elevated; anal fin II, 21 (20-22); pelvics I (internal), inserted before pectoral base, longer than pectoral, with 3 obvious rays; pectoral 12-14; all fin rays unbranched;no lateral line; no scales.

Male: head dark brown, fading gradually back along front half of body to pale yellow brown rear half; ~8 irregular brown bars on upper back, those on front half of body stronger and extending down to flank, bars faint on rear half of body; a row of dark spots along mid flank at level of dark bars; several dark brown double bars radiate down from eye and under throat; eye cirrus barred; 1st spine of dorsal fin with a wide red bar a little above its base then a series of dark and cream bars above that, those bars becoming fainter on upper part of spine, rest of elevated part of dorsal fin brown with irregular oblique narrow bars, dark blotches on base of spiny and soft parts of fin immediately above each dark body bar; tail fin pale yellowish; anal fin dark olive at front, fading to clear behind, a thin blue-white stripe along its base; pectorals clear; pelvics yellow at front merging into olive at rear.

Reaches 3.1 cm.

Lives in rubble and sand around reefs.

Depth range: 3-30 m.

SE Caribbean to Brazil.