Species: Starksia williamsi, Williams’s Blenny

Starksia williamsi Baldwin & Castillo, 2011

Williams’ Blenny

Body elongate, compressed; bluntly pointed head; eye, nostril and nape cirri unbranched; dorsal fin XIX (XIX-XX), 8 (7-8), a notch between spines and rays; 1st anal spine of male long, free from rest of fin, modified as sexual organ, no ridge or fold along anal fin base; anal fin II, 16 (16-17); pectorals 13 (11-13); pelvic fins I (internal), 2, inserted before pectoral base; all fin rays unbranched; lateral line continuous, front section arched, rear section straight; belly completely scaled; smooth scales on rear of body.

Head and body fairly uniform orangish to red-brown, sometimes with faint irregular dark bars, darker in male; lips of both sexes with few or no round white spots, uniform orange in male; preoperculum of male with a large dark blotch at lower rear corner; both sexes with a short, oblique narrow white bar back from eye towards lower corner of preoperculum; fresh female with dark bars on lower jaw; preserved males and females without dark bars on lips, preserved male without dark spots or bars on lower jaw; body scales each with a short dark bar; a row of small dark spots along the bases of the dorsal and anal fins; dorsal, tail and anal fins with orange bars in female, inner fin reddish, outer edges blackish in male.

Reaches 3.5 cm.

Lives in live coral areas, usually on dropoffs.

Depth range: 1-27 m.

E to SE Caribbean.