Species: Malacoctenus polyporosus, Porous blenny
flank stripes
under head spotted
LL 51-53
male red below
Malacoctenus polyporosus Springer, 1959
Porous blenny
Head slender, snout pointed; nape with a close-set pair of heavily branched cirri; a branched cirrus over eye; upper part of rear end of top jaw covered by bone under eye; no small teeth behind outer row of large teeth on upper jaw; no teeth on sides of roof of mouth; 5-6 (1-10) pores on underside of head between front ends of gill covers; gill rakers 11-12 (10-14); dorsal fin XX, 11, (XIX-XXI, 9-13), notch between spines and rays; anal II, 19-21 (18-23), very rarely 18; pectoral 14 (13-15); 3 pelvic soft rays; 51-53 (49-56) lateral line scales; scales absent on midline in front of dorsal fin; scales absent or present on prepectoral and breast areas of adults; scales on belly smaller than those on flanks.
Males light greenish on upper half, reddish or pink on lower half, 5-6 irregular-shaped dark brown bars on side and narrow stripes below; females similar except lacking reddish or pink hue on belly, and with spotted dorsal and tail fins (spotting absent or reduced in male); both sexes with underside of head invariably spotted; almost always a small dark spot in front of each pelvic fin base.
Size: grows to 9 cm.
Habitat: the most common blenny in rocky shallows of the Gulf of California.
Depth: 1-7.6 m.
The southeast Gulf of California to southern Mexico.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine Only
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom only
- Bottom
- Habitat
-
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef only
- Rocks
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Submerged vegetation
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
-
- No Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic worms
- No Data
- Egg Type
-
- Pelagic larva
- No data
- Benthic
- Global Endemism
-
- East Pacific endemic
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- TEP endemic
- Mexican province endemic
- Continent only
- Continent
- Continental TEP endemic
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 9
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 8
