Species: Hypleurochilus pseudoaequipinnis, Atlantic oyster blenny
head: orange dots
gill opening at side only
Hypleurochilus pseudoaequipinnis Bath, 1994
Atlantic oyster blenny
Head large, blunt; body elongate, compressed; nostril with a simple cirrus; a single cirrus with 4-15 branches over eye; mouth opens at front, top margin of top lip free, that margin discontinuous at front; teeth like incisors, with a large curved canine at rear of each jaw; lower jaw with 5 pores on each side; gill membranes broadly fused on throat, gill opening ends at level of lower base of pectoral fin; dorsal fin with a deep notch between spiny and soft parts, spiny part distinctly lower than soft part, XI-XII, 13-14; pelvics I, 4; pectorals 14 rays; anal fin II, 14-15; fin rays unbranched, except on tail fin; lateral line in 2 parts, 1st curved down behind end of pectoral, ends under last dorsal spines, 2nd from mid-flank to above ~middle of anal fin; no scales.
Males greenish grey with small orange spots on upper body; female with 5-6 square blotches on upper side, each composed of 4 dark spots overlain by orange dots; both sexes without orange dots on head; a dark spot at front of dorsal fin; a dark spot on the base of the pectoral; a dark spot at the base of the tail fin; a row of dark spots along the anal base.
Size: reaches 7.5 cm.
Habitat: mangroves and shallow rock outcrops; in turbid water and enters freshwater.
Depth: 0-2 m.
Endemic to the Greater Caribbean; evidently has passed through the Panama Canal, as a small population is present in disused lock chamber at the Pacific entrance to the Canal.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Freshwater
- Brackish
- Non Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom only
- Bottom
- Habitat
-
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Mangrove
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef and soft bottom
- Rocks
- Freshwater
- Estuary
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- FishBase Habitat
-
- Demersal
- Feeding Group
-
- Omnivore
- No Data
- Diet
-
- No Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Benthic microalgae
- Detritus
- Egg Type
-
- No data
- Benthic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
-
- All species
- Exotic (Introduced)
- TEP non-endemic
- Regional Endemism
-
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
- All species
- Continent
- Eastern Pacific non-endemic
- Continent only
- Residency
-
- Vagrant
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- IUCN Red List
-
- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
-
- Not listed
- Length Max
-
- 7.5
- Depth Range Min
-
- 0
- Depth Range Max
-
- 2
