Derilissus kremnobates

Common Name

Talus Clingfish

Year Described

Fraser, 1970

Identification

Dorsal Fin: 7-8
Anal Fin: 7-9
Pectoral Fin: 28-30
Caudal Fin: 7+7
Vertebrae: 26

Body relatively stout and robust (maximum depth ~3.5 times in SL). Eye relatively small (1.2-1.6 times in interorbital width). Incisor teeth trifid. Gill membranes attached to isthmus. Subopercle without a spine. Three of four gill arches with filaments. Fin rays are all unbranched. Pelvic disk well developed and covered in patches of papillae. Disk region C with a V-shaped patch of papillae in the posterior region. Fleshy pectoral pad poorly developed. Median fins placed far back on body. Tail truncate.

Color

Body salmon to orange-brown with pale spots and lines on body. Eye pale orange with an orange bar bisecting it. Belly and disk pale. Several bright salmon to orange lines radiate from eye. Lines much thinner than interspaces. Median fins body colored grading to bright scarlet red on the outer margins. Bright purple spots on the anterior margin of both dorsal and anal fins have red margins. Two pale spots on the caudal fin base. Pectoral fins clear.

Size

Specimens range from 19.8-27.6mm SL.

Habitat

Found on steep dropoffs and rubble slopes (146-265m). Inhabits areas with small to moderate coral rubble where talus accumulates.

Range

Known only from a few specimens off Arrowsmith Bank off NE Yucatan, Mexico.

References

Fraser, T.H. 1970. Two new species of the clingfish genus Derilissus (Gobiesocidae) from the western Atlantic. Copeia, 38-42.