Species: Hypsoblennius gentilis, Bay blenny
lower head: red bars
Hypsoblennius gentilis (Girard, 1854)
Bay blenny
Moderately elongate; short robust head, with very steep front profile; a small cirrus above posterior nostril; an unbranched cirrus present above eye, very elongate in adult males; no cirri on nape; teeth with blunt flattened tips, in single rows, not movable, no rear canines on either jaw; gill openings restricted to sides of body by fusion of gill cover membranes to throat; dorsal fin XI-XII, 16-18, a slight notch between the spiny and soft parts; anal rays II, 16-19.
Brown to greenish, white on throat and belly region; upper back with series of dark brown saddle-like marks; a horizontal row of white blotches along side at level of pectoral fin base; dorsal fin with a red blotch at front; adult males with red bar across throat, most evident during the breeding season.
Size: to 15 cm.
Inhabits intertidal shallows.
Depth: 0-25 m.
Monterey, California to the W and central E Gulf of California.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine
- Brackish
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom
- Bottom only
- Habitat
-
- Barnacles & worm tubes
- Reef only
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Rocks
- FishBase Habitat
-
- Demersal
- Feeding Group
-
- Omnivore
- No Data
- Diet
-
- Mobile benthic worms
- Soft corals/hydroids
- Data
- Sessile worms
- Sponges/seasquirts/bryozoa
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Sessile crustacea
- Benthic microalgae
- Egg Type
-
- No data
- Pelagic larva
- Benthic
- Global Endemism
-
- All species
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
- East Pacific endemic
- Regional Endemism
-
- TEP endemic
- Continent
- All species
- Temperate Eastern Pacific, primarily
- Continent only
- California province, primarily
- Continental TEP endemic
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
- Residency
-
- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California)
- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
-
- Not listed
- Length Max
-
- 15
- Depth Range Min
-
- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 25
